In Darkness, In Fire
by Xzero
Summary: Ten thousand years ago an atrocity was permitted. Ten thousand years ago a people were lost to time. Now, in Nerima there rises the last scion of a forgotten people. Revenge drives him, sadness fills him, will he face what lies ahead? R&R COMPlETE
1. Prologue

"When their enemies came at them, they persevered;

When the universe itself came at them, they persevered;

Only when they turned on themselves, did the Dark Knights fall."

Unknown

**In Darkness, In fire**

Disclaimer: I own nothing

**Prologue**

Ten thousand years ago, a great war raged amongst brutal and fierce warriors. Their battles shook the heavens and razed the skies. But in the end, their ferocity turned on them, immense contests of strength. These battles swiftly become enough to all but remove their kind from existence, these few warriors that survived found themselves hunted, their power feared by all.

"Damn, they must've found me." A voice from the darkness whispered agitated. Marble walls were in stark contrast to his clothing, but his presence was nonetheless masked by the deep black shadows pooled in the alley in which he hid. His left temple bled heavily, the world before him fading in dark spots that danced across his vision.

"Damn that crono mage." He muttered hoarsely as a bit of blood and spittle escaped from his throat in a wet and pained cough. Groaning despite himself he moved quickly toward the alley's mouth. His leg was ruined, but sheer force of will enabled him to limp swiftly down the night emptied streets of the lunar capitol. His pace was frantic, but still cautious. He had to be wary of the queen's guard, armed and armored and searching for him. A column of smoke rising behind him, a reminder, it was called by those who had started the blaze. Kindness for his kind would be repaid by the state, repaid with blood. His thoughts turned bitter at that, bitter at the thought of the man who had taken him in and helped him, despite the dangers. He regretted it now, regretted the danger he put that man in. That man had a wife and child, he berated himself, knowing that the five year old girl would now grow without a father, would hate his kind even more for it, knowing that her father was labeled traitor for his act of kindness.

A sharp whistle in the distance behind him threw his thoughts to the wind. The guards, they had found him, and would get him if he didn't get away. His mind shaped the familiar pattern and he was quickly dashing, his lame leg only supporting him long enough for another powerful stride. His eyes were half closed in pain or blood loss, not even he could tell now. Still he ran, the limp not seeming to hinder his motion much, but still extremely apparent. The purge was nearly complete, his kind had been hunted for the last ten years, refugees scattered to the winds by a civil war were tracked down and slaughtered without mercy. Power that was unparalleled had been useless when none could fight, not before they were already wounded by the tip of the enemy's spear. No quarter had been given to his kind. He could remember the malicious glee that painted the features of his foes, could remember the anger he still felt, and the small smirk that came to him when he realized that one of their elite had taken a fatal injury. One day their leader would pay for her ruthless slaughter, pay for taking from him his brothers and sisters. She and the rest would pay for their genocide, he swore it.

He sped toward the star port, had to get off the silver capital now. The dissention that had been growing on Earth was quickly coming to boil, and soon he felt, the enemies of Serenity's line would rise. Streets blurred together in his haste to get away, blurred as he ran and tried to plan his course of action. They couldn't find him now, no matter what they did, he looked no different from them now. His black hair and startling grey blue eyes shone almost in the dark. Those orbs shone with a determination that would never dull.

"Here we go." He said, moving onto the interplanetary transport and starting its pre-flight check. They never were very good with security.

Silver Millennium, Year 1000. After a thousand years of peace, and ten years after the ordered purge of all Dark Knight sympathizers and refugees found within the borders of the Sol system it was done, with the official end to the Dark Knight threat, peace was stretched thin, and soon to break. War once again bubbled up. A Terran duchess, jealous both of the power held by the Silver Queen, and the relationship blooming between her planet's crown prince and crown princess of the Lunar Empire, made a pact with a demonic entity known as Metallia, sealing her fate to that of the demon. Metallia granted her the strength to crush the Empire, but it was not to be. The major force that she now had command of had all but crushed the capital, when their queen gave her life in trade for a spell of such power, that it would reincarnate the souls of all lost in the conflict, and seal away the demonic armies. But that is not what this is about. A man who sat in the cockpit of a interplanetary transport watched the battle commence, felt as the senshi fell one by one, all but the hated senshi of Pluto. His heart cried in agony as he felt the destruction of Vulcan, wept as he felt the lives of the last of his family extinguished, as the millions of youma and dark knights alike extinguished as the planet was detonated by the senshi of silence. His wounds caught up with him then, and his pain let him give in to the bliss of unconsciousness.

* * *

A world of waking surprised him, as he awoke to the cool feeling of cloth against his forehead, "Wha...?" He managed to sound, albeit weakly as he got a glimpse of his surroundings, he was in what he could only guess to be wilderness, his thoughts began to race, he had crashed, and apparently into the undeveloped regions of Terra. His transport needed to be destroyed before anyone could find it. He realized that the cold compress had to mean someone, and when his eyes opened fully he could only stare a moment as his other thoughts fled at the sight of this beautiful woman. She was a fiery red haired beauty whose graceful features were soothing to him as he felt the darkness dance across his vision again. Her features were soft, and her smile radiant, so when she smiled, our warrior could only stare. His blankness ended when the woman said something, but one area of her sentence seemed stressed, "Mei-lin." He could only assume that was her name, as she had gestured to herself when speaking it. She gestured to him moments later, but his vision had faded again, and his eyes closed, and sleep took him. 

The battles had ended, and no life remained anywhere, all but Terra had been burned clean of its inhabitants, Mercury's great technology failed after time spent in disrepair, giving the planet back to the giant star that warmed the system. Sol burned away all traces of the once great scientific center. Venus too suffered that fate, and Luna -Terra's moon and former capital for the silver kingdom- without the great magic of its queen and her imperium crystal, the atmosphere fled the satellite, leaving it a cold desert of grey dust. One by one the once great centers of knowledge and power in the system faded in the winds of change. Time passed, and things and people changed. The people began to forget, histories were born and lost, but despite, humanity moved forward, forgetting the past. The Silver Kingdom faded from hearts and memories as history strode forward. In the thousands of years to come, all had forgotten their ancestry amongst the stars. No written history had survived that era, none but the yellowed writings of one man whose name had been lost even to his family, a family that was never lost to time. Its name changed, as did their social and political status, but one thing always remained, they would be warriors of great valor, unsurpassed strength, and godlike ability.

To Be Continued...

A/N: For those of my readers who have been wondering what I have been up to I can only apologize, writer's block has kept me from updating until recently. Dark Prayer 9 is in the works and will be done as soon as I can finish and get it cleaned up. This prologue begins my venture into what has killed the credibility of many a writer, but I hope that this unique concept, which was presented to me by my Pre-reader Paul, will be a good enough read to escape the usual fate of a SM/R.5 x-over. Leave me a review and tell me what you think of this so far. I have it planned from start to finish, all I really need is to actually write it. Thank you for reading, more to come soon.


	2. Blood's Remembrance

The ages came and went, and with them, history faded to legend, in turn legend faded to myth, until even myth was gone, fairytales told to frighten children into their beds. Eons pass, and only blood remembers...

**In Darkness, In Fire**

By: X-Zero

Disclaimer: I own nothing... This was all Paul's idea...

**Chapter 1 - Blood's remembrance**

The sun shone just barely over the horizon, false dawn fleeing before the rising of the sun. Clouds hung sparsely in the sky above Nerima, their presence seemingly permanent, threatening to pour their liquid burden upon the earth at any time. The sun had just risen to greet the world, but the Tendo household was already rousing. Tendo Kasumi stood in the kitchen, watching the Saotome men spar. The two were trading blows mercilessly, but her practiced eye could see the younger holding back. He'd been doing that recently, asking her to sew the heavy materials into his clothing, training during the night, when she was cleaning and the others slept. Her worried expression went entirely unnoticed, even during the fights with his rivals, everything since Saffron to him had seemed unimportant. "What are you up to Ranma?"

Ranma Saotome was often considered to be an unintelligent youth whose only skill was martial arts. This was close to the truth, but at the same time, far from it. His mind was sharp, and his skills had branched outward since the beginning of his training trip as a child, he had found that the more he learned no matter what it was, brought him closer to his goals as a martial artist. "Gotta be the best." A motto he had lived by since his early childhood, a motto that had seen him through good and bad times, bad being more common than anything else. Currently he was training with his father, a word that the larger man could barely be considered by most standards. Despite this though, his father was the only person to be through everything with him. He was not just a gluttonous thief, he had raised Ranma as best he could, making mistakes much harsher than other parent's mistakes, but then, other parents hadn't lived under Happosai. He smiled broadly as he ducked under a vicious asp hand aimed at his sternum. "C'mon pop, let's take it up another notch." He half shouted as his father nodded, a proud smile coating his blunt features.

Genma marveled at the stamina and strength his son was displaying, proud of the intensity and joviality found in his son's spirit, they had been through tough times together, but were ultimately happy with the way things were. They had survived their trip, and both had learned things others could only dream of. They had faced the odds as they came, and suffered ultimately, a wince of pain crossed his face as his son took a blow at the chest and was submerged beneath the pond waters. He knew what he would find when he surfaced, he'd face off against his son again, but this time, he'd be fighting a red haired daughter rather than raven haired son. "I'm sorry boy." He whispered as he waited for the attack. "Moko Takabisha!" A ki blast shot out of the water, and lit the immediate area as if bringing the sun with its arrival. The buxom redhead emerged from the waters with a powerful leap as expected, water trailing down from her clothing in the morning light. "Katchuu Tenshin Amaguriken" Was the whispered warning she gave as her arms blurred and struck at her father's torso, impacts dancing across his chest and forearms, catching his guard.

Nabiki woke as usual to the din of combat outside, her eyes refusing yet to open she lay in bed, growling about the sun, men with nothing better to do than brain each other, and life amongst the day beings in general. Her mind gradually returned, but even as it did so, her eyes still refused to open, sleep having stuck them shut, and the pain even a crack brought was only encouragement toward further rest. "Damnit." She muttered quietly under her breath, sluggishly rising to her feet. Stiff movement took her sluggishly to the bath, and only Kasumi's thoughtful actions had it ready for her after she had rinsed, the practiced motions taking nearly no effort as her mind started itself into more sensical patterns. The middle Tendo daughter sank into the blissfully hot waters of the furo and went about the final step of waking up, making up a list of things to do, people to talk to, plans for money-making operations of the day. Her factors would keep things running even if she wasn't there, but they would not blossom unless she took active part.

The Tendo patriarch had risen before the dawn, just as his old training partner and his son had, but his early waking was not for training, was not for chores, or unwelcome, but instead it was a ritual he had started shortly after the death of his wife, bless her soul. He was kneeled in prayer, asking guidance and strength. The near death of his daughter had shaken the man. The feebleness that Kimiko's death had brought upon him was creeping away, being replaced with a slow rising pillar of stability, he knew that he must be strong, he had remained idle and grieving for far too long. Instead of weeping at his departed spouse's shrine as he would have, he was instead asking forgiveness for his weakness. Finished with his prayers, the man rose smoothly to his feet, and donned his clothing, the usual dark brown gi, belted across the waist by a rough black cloth belt. "Let us begin the day, and seek strength where we have been weak, let us find the light where only darkness has been for far too many years.

* * *

The heavy footfalls and shallow breaths helped to clear her mind, and the tingling of her jaw from both the cold and pace of breath was soothing in an exhilarating way. She pondered her situation, and found that as much as she hated the engagement for being not her choice, she had come to care for her pigtailed fiancée. Akane Tendo was out this morning jogging, spending her time of peace thinking, something most would find odd. Her face was not a mask of rage, but instead, peaceful. She recalled times when Ranma had helped her, and never once asked for a thank you. Sure, he was rough around the edges, but given his upbringing she could forgive that. He is such a jerk sometimes, she reminded herself, but immediately change that, knowing that all he did was voice his thoughts in the only manner he had been taught. Her mind was firm though, marrying him was not what she wished for her future, she hated doing it, but showing affection for the roguishly handsome young martial artist was out of the question, anything of the kind would only cause her grief. He feared losing her dreams to an early marriage. Saffron had made that blatantly clear to her, made the fact that she could never love him like that very clear indeed. His life was devoted entirely to the pursuit of martial mastery, she, however, wished to act, to see the world, and not out of a backpack. She trained herself because she did love the art, but did not have the drive to study it as completely as Ranma or Ryouga.

Her route was nearly done, she realized as she was drawn back into reality by a passing vehicle, and saw the rear gate to her home. She dreaded her entrance; she knew what the day would bring. It went without saying that she slowed, and took deep breaths, calming herself, and donning the mask she wore. She prepared herself for a day filled with needless violence toward someone she had realized cared for her. But she saw the same as he must have, that they couldn't live together as man and wife, kami, she hoped he had. Taking another deep breath she pushed through the gate, and silently took in the sparring between father and son, which was, as it had been since the return from China, and since the failed wedding. Their usual morning spar was nothing like this, she could see from what she knew that both were utilizing ki. Genma emitted a deep hunter-green aura, which trailed after his limbs as the lashed at his son, while the other struck with a beautiful sapphire. His aura, different from his father's did not trail, rather, it was a constant, his speed amazing, the crimson silk of his tang blurring into bolts of color within the aura. Finally, she managed to completely gather her wits, and stepped into the yard, the gate clicking closed behind her.

Ranma decided that sparring was finished for now, and nodded to his father, the older man taking the cue to remove all stops from his attacks. The two Saotome men became mere blurs to the eye, nothing more than their clashing fists and feet to tell where they were, the deep hunter and the rich sapphire lit the morning sky above the Tendo grounds, clashing over and over, auras intermingling in places, pushing against each other in others. The two men met over and over, brutal punches, kicks, and grappling maneuvers traded in rapid succession. "Time to finish things for now pop." Ranma said, and the rich color of his aura deepened, as more and more energy pumped into his body, infused every cell until his body sang the hymn of battle. Ecstasy was not enough to describe what he felt, but he would not shame himself to try, this was the ultimate, nothing compared to this. "Katchuu Tenshin Amaguriken revised: Moko Tosshin!" He yelled as he flung himself at his father, his fierce smile never wavering as he struck at his parent.

Genma too, intensified his attack, "Genma Kakekomi!" Needless to say the younger man was unsurprised that his father had adapted the chestnut fist, but was surprised by the incredible speed that his father had managed, his size belied a great deal many things about him, such as his razor wit, and catlike reflexes. They traded blows for nearly a minute, before each landed a solid blow in a hit-trade, the incredible force throwing both back to opposing edges of the koi pond. "Moko Takabisha!" "Genma Tama!" Brilliant gold met deep violet, and struggled against one another before slowly the aurulent sphere managed to overcome its violaceous counterpart, rocketing toward the elder combatant. It was greatly diminished from the extended struggle, but struck Genma solidly, knocking him back and down. The aura's surrounding them faded, and they relaxed, both panting heavily, sweat that had until now been invisible shown on glistening heads.

"Great workout pop." Ranma breathed to his father, who reclined in the grass, hands supporting him as he greedily gulped air, "Good job boy, you make me proud." He admitted his voice high enough that Ranma heard him. The Saotome patriarch sank down onto his back, eyes closed and tired, waiting patiently for his breath, and more importantly, for breakfast to be ready.

To say that Akane was shocked would be gross understatement, her mind boggled at the display of strength, the Saotome men rarely let their sparring go past anything more than a morning workout, then again, Ranma had been training more and more intensely recently. "Ranma..." She whispered with a touch of awe. Most of his battle with Saffron was a hazy blur, flames and death having taken from her the majority of memory, the doctors she had seen since had stated that she must be blocking her memory of a traumatic experience. She knew better, as did they all, you cannot remember what you were not truly alive to experience. Ranma had freely admitted that her intervention had saved him and given him strength at times during that battle. It was one thing to know that someone had defeated a god in combat, it was another to witness this strength brought to bare. She shrugged herself out of her thoughts, not wanting to be seen taking notice that would do no one any good, but could not shake the feeling of being watched. Her gaze scanned across the skyline surrounding the Tendo complex instinctively, but found nothing. Putting both Ranma's seriousness and her weird feeling aside, she continued into the house, it was only then that she noticed that she had been watching them spar for several minutes, and she would not have time to bathe as she saw Kasumi pad lightly out of the kitchen, carrying the tray full of breakfast foods.

"Breakfast is ready Akane; please tell Uncle Saotome and Ranma." The mellow tones of Kasumi's voice broke her again from unbidden thoughts. Numbly she nodded to her older sister, pangs of jealousy at the woman's feminine grace and domestic skill tainting her mind momentarily, banished long before they could grow into the tirade she would have allowed had it been Ranma. Her light footsteps carried her to the sliding door that led to the backyard, "Uncle, Ranma, breakfast." She called to them halfheartedly. She could only force herself to look away when Ranma glanced at her questioningly, an unspoken question passing between them. She could see him wonder if she was alright. He knew her well, and could tell at times things about her that she didn't know about herself. "Hurry up baka, or you'll miss breakfast." She growled at him, having watched as the tired master dashed toward the heavy wooden table, seating himself quickly on the tatami. She turned to reenter when she felt a hand fall on her shoulder, the others all too preoccupied with getting food to bother noticing what was to pass between the younger of the two houses represented. "You alright Akane? You look like something's bothering you." Ranma's eyes were, at that moment, the color of a clear day, endless and deep blue; she felt in that instant that she could drown in them. She blinked away the spell that his eyes had captured her in for a moment, and then, just as quickly, a false smile that she had perfected for the world around her was in place, a mask almost equal to Kasumi's. "Of course, let's get some breakfast." She strode quick and calm to the table taking her usual seat, just as Ranma sank bonelessly into his own place, quickly gathering food to refill the wear on his energy reserves that this morning's match had taken from him.

* * *

Breakfast had proceeded quickly and relatively silently, Ranma had of course, decided to remain quiet through then meal, choosing instead to think on the strange feeling of something on the horizon, something important. "Ranma, would you like some more rice?" Kasumi's gentle tone and smile lightened his mood, but nothing would take from him that heavy feeling that lingered in the air. "No, no thank you Kasumi." He said, throwing to bear his usual lopsided grin. "I think I'm gonna visit Mom today." He worded offhandedly, "She said that she wanted to spend some time with me, and I have nothing else to do today." His nonchalant manner took most of the family off guard; Nabiki merely raised an eyebrow questioningly, while Kasumi merely beamed that smile that could light any man's day with its honest gentle nature. "What gives Saotome? Usually, you take any opportunity to avoid going there." Nabiki would try to find his ulterior motive, find it from anyone, even if there was none to be found, especially, if there was no other reason than the one provided. "No reason in particular, I just want to spend some time with my mother, is there a law against it?" He asked almost acidically of the bowl-haired brunette, his caustic glance causing her own to waiver slightly. "That's wonderful Ranma, were you going alone?" Kasumi implied something, but Ranma couldn't find a meaning, and wasn't sure there was one in the first place. Too much time spent in company with Nabiki, he supposed. "Yeah, I don't get much alone time with her, and it would be nice to spend some quality time with her." He explained, making it fact that he was indeed going to see his mother, alone, and no one would change this.

"Say hello for all of us, will you?" The eldest Tendo girl said punctuating it further that no one else would be joining him. "Sure." Was the casual response, as he rose fluidly to his feet. "I'm heading out now." Was all that he said, before leaving silently. Little else to say, but that he was gone, leapt over the fence and running across the rooftops, enjoying the feel of wind whipping across his face as he dashed carefree toward his destination.

* * *

Saotome Nodoka wiped away a band of sweat across her brow, her family sword held tight in her hands, this pause in her training was merely to take a breath, before she began a new set, these motions were blindingly quick, and her overall performance was awe inspiring, it was as such that Ranma found his mother, training intensely, power surpassing even his own. "Damn mom, why did you let Pop's train me if you were the strong one?" He asked playfully as she finished a kata that he had been watching for at least fifteen minutes, one that didn't look to have just started.

"Because son, you are your father's heir before being my own, besides, anything goes will compliment your arms training wonderfully." She stated matter-of-factly, sheathing her katana and granting him a serene smile. "So, you decided to take me up on my offer Ranma?" She stated more than asked, using a towel to wipe the light sheen of sweat from her brow.

"Yeah, I know the basics of most weapon styles, but I never really got into them because, well, once you're disarmed as a weapon user, you're screwed." He said, quickly realizing his mistake and covering his mouth, looking at the auburn haired woman abashed. "It's perfectly alright son, but please realize, that learning a weapon doesn't mean you are reliant solely on it, I am a good fighter without my sword, but with it, I am stronger. Losing my sword only removes it from the equation, not me entirely. Think of it this way, if you learn to use a weapon, you have an extra tool in combat, and know better how to deal with someone using a weapon." Her curt explanation awed him, and he knew it to be true. "You're right mom; I never saw it before... I just don't want to give my opponents a weakness to exploit, and pops, well; you know his opinion on weapon users." Ranma sighed, disappointed in himself for not having seen past his tainted opinion earlier. "Can we start, I don't think I'll have too long before someone follows me." Nodoka nodded, and directed him to take a seat in the middle of the dojo, sitting opposite him. "First son, we must ascertain your ability, our family style is dependent on both the mental state and ki ability of the blade wielder. Release your aura, and raise it to its limits." She stated, her eyes closed and her breathing evened out as she grasped her centered. The sudden appearance of Ranma's almost overwhelming aura shocked her, she had heard of her son's travels and enemies, but had always thought them exaggerated, only now could she truly believe Saffron's claim's true, her son truly did possess immeasurable power, as much if not more so than her own. Recovering herself, she began the probing that she had been taught, began searching throughout his aura, looking for the components to unlock his strength, and then teach him how to do so. Her family's scrolls detailed the training, and how it would vary once in the advanced stages, no two students could ever be exactly alike, and so, the concept of training was immensely up to the teacher.

She searched within his aura for what seemed like hours, mapping the emotional roller coaster that was her son's soul, and within this lay his deepest secrets, things buried within the core parts of a person's aura could tell you a great deal about them from early in life. Once she found his deeper ki regions she was once again shocked, a great darkness lie there. A spectral shape formed within her mind as she concentrated on this darkness, that of a small feline. "What is that?" The auburn haired swordswoman whispered to herself, struggling to maintain control as the image of a housecat, which had grown from domestic sized housecat, to an aberration, its form was greatly similar to a tiger, but distorted, as if it was built of conflicting emotions. Whatever it was, every time she poked it, Ranma whimpered, flinching despite his intense focus. He truly did have remarkable energy control, but so much of his energy went wasted constructing an emotional filter, did he not realize that he was limiting his strength using such a technique? No matter, she said to herself, dismissing the topic to continue her scan. Finally, reaching the core of his aura, the center where she could feel control being focused from, she found something that she could not believe, the ki here was immense, like something she had felt , but it was as if he were unaware of it, unaware of this power that lie dormant. It was the same power that she felt in her father, and in her grandfather.

To Be Continued…

A/N: This was shorter than I thought it would be, but I believe that ending the chapter here, and continuing in the next chapter which will begin his training in his mother's style, as well as the introduction of the SM elements. As is common with my story, I will now provide you with the Technique Translation.

Technique Translations:

Genma Kakekomi: Dark Horse Stampede. This is Genma's adaptation of the Chestnut Fist.

Genma Tama: Dark Horse Shot. This is a ki attack similar in construction to Ranma's own, though his greater study of the arts have given him an insight into emotional ki, he restrains, waiting for Ranma to ask him.

Moko Tosshin: Fierce Tiger Charge. This is a more powerful version of the amaguriken, as the original was insufficient, it is a new creation by Ranma, with mild assistance from Happousai and Cologne (unwittingly).


	3. Contemplation and Progression

Finally, reaching the core of his aura, the center where she could feel control being focused from, she found something that she could not believe, the ki here was immense, like something she had felt , but it was as if he were unaware of it, unaware of this power that lie dormant. It was the same power that she felt in her father, and in her grandfather.

**In Darkness In Fire**

By: X-Zero

Disclaimer: I own nothing, short the situations, those are mine, the characters and settings are the intellectual property of their respective owners.

**Athenais: **You got it right on the money.

**Wonderbee31:** Genma has shown that he knows a great deal more than he's taught Ranma, he helped him develop the Moko Takabisha, showed him how to focus his ki correctly.

**To all those who have reviewed: Thank you, your reviews are worth more than gold to me.**

**Chapter 2 - Contemplation and Progression**

Another day, another set of repetitive chores, though the eldest Tendo girl could not complain, she had help now. Rinsing the dishes she had used to cook hours earlier, she looked out the window to see the Saotome heir taking down the laundry and setting it the the basket. Unlike herself, the young man didn't do so from the second story window, or even with the hooked line, instead he did so with a series of precise jumps, snatching the clothing off the line and depositing it in the hamper before landing without looking. He had been doing the chores more and more amazingly recently, and she saw that it fit well with the greater training regime he had started. She smiled softly, fond memories of conversations between them as they did housework, or even when she helped him on occasion with his schoolwork. Her dishes were finished quickly as she did them thinking of other things, fonder than soap suds up to her elbows. She began on dinner just as she finished, reaching into the refrigerator for the vegetables and meat, and searching her well-stocked cupboards for the spices and rice she would serve that evening, a simple meal of rice and stir fry. She chopped the vegetables quickly and precisely, only pausing when she heard the padded footfalls of her younger sister, "Can I help you Nabiki?" She asked sweetly, not bothering to turn around to face her, instead finishing with the vegetables and moving on to the strips of beef.

Tendo Nabiki had been awake since dawn, an unusual happening for the middle bowl-haired brunette, having spent several hours positioning her factors to be around the Saotome home, as well as the area through which Ranma would pass on his way there, she was hungry. She had found out nothing despite the weeks that had passed since he began visiting his mother everyday, he had been returning tired, so it could be assumed that she was either working him, or showing him what he did not learn with his father. Nabiki had always suspected that the clumsiness with which the woman wielded that blade of hers was merely a ruse. She would find out what was going on, nothing escaped her notice, nothing. She made her way downstairs quickly, and despite her haste, her footsteps were as silent as those of a ghost, she had stopped learning martial arts beyond the basics, but had not forgotten what she had learned, had not forgotten how to move. She always made a notice of it to move as silently as possible, she had in fact, done it so long that she no longer thought about it, instead did it by instinct, much as she knew Ranma responded to everything. At least, until recently, his words seemed to be chosen carefully, instead of the instinctive insults he used to hurl without care. He seemed to be wising up, and that thought made the middle Tendo smile. It was not a malicious smile, or even a predatory grin as she was well known for, but instead, it seemed the joy of someone who saw a student, a friend finally learning a lesson that you had been trying to teach. She had spent a great deal of time and energy trying to show Ranma the realities of the modern world, realities and truths that you didn't learn in the wild, such as street wisdom. People would swindle you out of everything you had if you gave them the chance, and she didn't want his naivety affecting all that she had worked for, all that she had done to keep this family from falling apart. Her growling belly stole her train of thought, and her small hand rose to her bare midriff, "Mm, food's starting to sound really good." She muttered to herself, walking into the kitchen through the open door.

In the kitchen she found Kasumi, unsurprising of course, though she hadn't seen her outside all day yet the laundry was down, and she had seen it up only an hour previous. Once again, a train of thought was lost when, without turning or showing any indication of seeing or hearing her, Kasumi spoke. "When do you suppose dinner will be done?" Nabiki asked, starting slowly toward the refrigerator for a snack to tide her off.

"It should be done soon enough, though there is some snack food in the fridge if you are hungry, we are having stir fry tonight, as I'm not in the mood for cooking much else." Nabiki would never admit to being shocked, though the blank look on her face would say otherwise, at least until she covered it. She was being derailed far too easily today for her liking, far too easily. She nodded, though she knew her older sister could not actually see her, and reached into the refrigerator and drew a couple apples, and a pitcher of lemonade. The tall glass set right next to her on the counter must've been placed by Kasumi while she had her head in the refrigerator, though how she knew that her sister would go for the lemonade was beyond her. For not the first time, it dawned on the middle Tendo that her sister hid a great deal beneath the serenity that she displayed, though she knew firsthand that that serenity was not a mask, merely a single side of her sister that was there for public display. She poured her lemonade and returned the pitcher to the fridge, leaving her sister with as much silence as she entered, only as she reached the door, Kasumi began humming a tune that she did not recognize.

* * *

Genma sat opposite his old training partner and played with him their game of go, something they had done almost everyday for the last year and a half, a tradition that seemed to start for no particular reason, over this playing table, the two men spoke about matters of great importance, at least, important to them. It was over a game of Go that they devised the arrangement for the unification of their two clans what seemed ages past. Granted, they were incredibly drunk at the time, and so have no clear memory of the agreement, though neither would admit to it. They moved quickly through the game, as it was not the subject of their focus, not important really, not even enough so to cheat as was common, a part of the game itself so much as the strategy that was used.

"Tendo..." "Saotome..." Each began, not each trying to continue, "... I have come to a decision." This time though, both stopped, looking at the other until the elder Saotome decided to continue, and the Tendo patriarch nodded. "This is something that has been coming for quite awhile, and while it grieves me to admit, I don't believe Ranma or Akane will ever marry, at least, not each other. Over the last year or so, we've sat blindly, watching them argue and fight, and while Ranma always helps her when she needs him, I have seen their latest interactions. If anything, I believe that taking from them the pressure of marrying, especially while still in high school, if only barely so, will do more harm than good for our families. So tell me old friend, what is it that you had to say?" Soun stared at Genma in disbelief, eyes wide in shock. He could not believe that his friend had just summed up all that he had to say, all that his regained or newfound clarity had told him. His reflections these past weeks had all been leading to this, he had even taken into counsel his eldest daughter, though you would never guess from the goings on of the house. "Genma old buddy, I agree. In fact, you said exactly what was on my mind. I myself have been watching, and have seen my daughter's eyes when she believes none are watching, when she thinks all are too preoccupied to notice. Her eyes tell me that she doesn't see Ranma as a husband, perhaps in time that may change, or if not, at least they will be family, but never do I believe they will wed, nor so do I believe that either of my other daughters would take kindly to a switch of the engagement. The kami know what happened when Nabiki was made to shoulder the agreement, she milked your son for all he was worth, and while I do not approve, she has done what she can to make ends meet while I have been grieving." Soun sighed at that, unable to remain stony faced as he was usually, at least, as Genma remembered of his usual, before he was married, long before he was a widower. Their conversation was done, and neither man particularly felt like talking, much yet had to be deliberated, how would they put this to their children? A question that would plague the minds of both men for some time, too long.

* * *

Akane was out with her friends, as they quite often were, when situations weren't demanding her attention, such as a fiancée crisis, or being the prisoner of strange Chinese nobility. She sat, basking in the amiable silence as the two other girls none too politely ravaged ice cream like starved dogs. She giggled in the face of this fearsome sight, and quickly the giggle developed into full-blown laughter, until the other parts of the trio took noticed, having the good grace to look bashful. They meekly wiped the frozen desert from their faces with a napkin, and settled back from the empty messy dishes that had at one point been the resting place of banana splits. Soft sighs escaped the lips of the pair, before Sayuri, the darker of the two brunettes leaned forward. "Hey Akane, how have things been recently? Yuka and I have noticed that you haven't been as stressed as usual recently." Yuka nodded vehemently, "Yeah Akane, what's the deal? Ranma's been really weird lately too, I mean, what's up with him ignoring Kuno-sempai? He usually bashes his head in, but yesterday, he just ignored him like he wasn't worth his time." Yuka already understood that Kuno truly wasn't worth Ranma's time, despite that fact, Ranma always rose to the challenges that Kuno offered, no matter how strange.

For her merit, Akane managed to respond gracefully, unless being left working one's jaw like a fish out of water was not considered graceful. She did recover quickly though, her features twisting into a pensive gaze as she thought with a finger held to her lips. "You know, you're right, I guess it's just because Ranma hasn't been around much, he's been spending alot of time after school and the majority of the weekend every week with his mom, and well, we just haven't had the time or energy to argue, scary as it sounds." She dared not tell them more, she knew that neither of them would ever betray her, but Nabiki's factors were everywhere, and always listening. "As for Ranma, well, I guess the baka is finally growing up, he's been more quiet recently, and when he does talk, I think he thinks beforehand. I saw him in the dojo awhile back, training with weapons though, and that kind of worries me. But... This is Ranma, what do I have to worry about?" She knew at that moment that there was something to worry about, it shone on her face, and she could practically hear the bad suspense music begin in the background.

"If you're sure." Shrugged Sayuri, while Yuka looked thoughtful, though she hid it quickly, before either of her companions could notice. She actually had conversations with Ranma on the rare occasion that she retreated to the roof of Furinkan during lunch periods, during the same time that he was hiding from his fiancées. She pitied him sometimes, before she remembered his words on pity. _"I don't need pity, it's my life, and even though it sucks, it's mine to deal with."_ He always began grumbling about his father, and how he didn't exactly make things easy on him.

"Yuka... Yuka, it's time to get going, it'll be dark soon." Sayuri offered Akane a smile before departing with the ashen brunette. The youngest Tendo smiled widely and moved from the booth. Waving, she bid the vendor a goodbye and left, taking to the cool evening air, and walking carefree in the direction of her home.

* * *

Ryouga sat in the light of his campfire, as usual, the fanged martial artist had no idea as to his present location, his only clue that he had seen a man hunting with a long blowgun a few hours previous. It bothered him, as he was distinctly aware that such was a rare if ever sight in Japan, meaning that he must've found his way to some other country, though he could not recall crossing any large bodies of water. That thought sent a shiver down his spine, water... He cursed loudly, startling a flock of birds into the air, but doing nothing to sate the anger that swelled within him. It was Ranma's fault, had he just been a man and stayed for their duel, he'd not be cursed, he would be free to pursue his love openly, and never be that helpless pig again. He sighed loudly, knowing that that was just a damn excuse, Ranma was not responsible for his situation, and only during these moments alone could he quell his anger long enough to see that. He knew that by the next time he saw Ranma, he'd be caught up in his depression and would strike blindly. He knew that Ranma always tried to be a friend to him, always did what he could to help him. He hadn't seen the pigtailed boy in weeks though, the last time he had seen the Tendo home, he had been away at his mother's home, visiting. He had wanted to see him, to see his friend from childhood, from the days they had spent sparring in middle school. He had considered Ranma his rival since that first bout, he was the standard by which he would measure himself. They were always in close competition with one another, always striving to improve. Never was this rivalry malicious, when one improved, the other would strive to match, and because Ranma had a sensei, something that had been denied him because of his families curse, often it was he trying to catch up. That had been the greatest source of irritation and conflict between them. Put simply, he was jealous of all that was handed Ranma, though slowly he was coming to the understanding that his rival didn't want all these things, because they were simply not worth their cost to him. Ryouga pondered these things long into the night, and when he did sleep, it was dreamless.

* * *

Somewhere between the Tendo compound and the Saotome home, Ranma was doused thoroughly with cold water, and this was how his, or rather, her mother found her, drenched and smelling no little like something dead and decaying. The elder woman pinched her nose closed and invited her son turned daughter inside. "Go ged a showah." She said, pointing in the direction of the bath. "I be waidin oudside." She explained as she cantered quickly outside toward the training area.

She sat there amidst the training devices, and thought on the training they had run through, he was being modest claiming to know the basics of the traditional weapons. She could recall clearly the time she tested his knowledge.

* * *

_Flashback_

Ranma held in his hands a bokken made of white oak in a ready stance, "blade" held tucked into his sash. Upon Nodoka's prompting he flew into a kata, not at his usual speed, but close. He whirled in a simple, for his standards, kata that reeked of the style covered within Musashi's book, "A Book of Five Rings." He flowed between the attitudes, and displayed incredible talent, but despite his skill, he still held the weapon stiffly, his forms were perfect, but mechanical. He would win most world class competitions with his skill, but until he learned to treat the sword as an extension of his arm, it would not sing for him.

Next he was to display his proficiency with pole arms, a naginata resting easy in his palms. "Yosh!" She barked, and he began, slow deliberate motions with his weapon were the start of the form. These crisp strike were meant to show both power and control, two of the main points in the use of the naginata. Speed was often discarded for control, as with familiarity strength would increase. His display ended with a dual handed rapid succession of thrusts, each quicker than the last, before one of them struck low in a sweep with the back of the blade, and pole was spun end over end to be embedded in the ground, a fatal maneuver. She nodded slowly, smiling. "Very good, Ranma. You have a great deal of skill, but are still lacking a great deal, you have a long road ahead before you can master the art of weapons."

_End Flashback_

* * *

Ranma finished his bath quickly, wanting dearly to return to his training. He would admit now that he was a lot less prepared for the unusual weapons his mother was teaching him to wield, before she would let him touch another weapon, he had to master the fan, the umbrella, and basic gardening tools, he spent a great deal of time doing calligraphy and gardening when he was here. In each lesson he began to see the greater purpose, he understood that calligraphy took precision, and farming tools were some of the earliest weapons. He smiled, remembering the aches in his muscles, and tugged his undershirt over his head. He slung the crimson silk over one shoulder and left the bathing area, heading for the back yard, walking slowly and enjoying the peaceful aura of the house. Despite his slow motion, he reached the sliding door to the yard quickly enough. He opened it and went outside, watching as his mother sat in the center of the rough mats she had laying in her training area. She had her eyes closed and a peaceful smile on her face. He just looked at her for a moment, trying to capture this image in his mind, trying to memorize his mother. He had never had an image of her from his childhood, and he always wanted to remember her as she was now, smiling and serene. This was the mother he had imagined during his childhood, before he thought she was dead. This is what he imagined she looked like, what little he could remember, memories of his life before the Nekoken were hazy, like a half-remembered dream. After that day, his memory had been sketchy, he could remember anything he'd seen, regardless of how short a glimpse he had of it, but names, dates, these things escaped him.

"Are you going to join me, or will you spend the rest of the evening standing there?" Nodoka asked, shaking Ranma from his thoughts. _Whoa, I almost forgot about that, she can sense ki as easily, and more accurately than I can._ He thought to himself as he stepped onto the rough mats and sat opposite his mother and sensei. "What are we doing today, sensei?" He asked, the warmth of a son to his mother fading as they ceased to be related, she was his sensei, and he her student, nothing more. Her regal grace never faltered, despite the power she exuded, both intellectual and physical. "Today you will be practice with the staff, your skills with it are great, but you fail to grasp the true power of it. It is not only a weapon, look to it for other uses, and never forget that you are a master of unarmed combat, infuse those skills with your tools, use the two in harmony, not separately." She was right, he realized, since he had began using weapons, he had been mastering the skill apart from his usual method, he had been learning something new, instead of adapting the new and mixing it into the old. He had neglected his specialty, it dawned upon him then that he had a great deal of work to do. He needed to make these weapons part of his bag of tricks, he needed to integrate them into his strategies, into all that he was. "Yes sensei, I will do it." And he did, his training reached deep into that night, and when he slept it was for a few hours, and when he awoke, he ate breakfast and trained more, every hour bringing him closer, but it would take days of this, days he did not have.

* * *

Outside of all that exists, in a place where nothing existed, yet existed everywhere at once, a tall dark woman with green hair streaming down her back stood holding an apparently ivory staff, this staff was in the shape of a key, a heart filled with a garnet orb at the top. She stared into a hole in the nothingness, a gap within the every shifting chaos of time. This gap was surrounded by ornate doors depicting angels and demons, this was what was known as the gates of time. The image within the open gates was that of a woman, auburn hair cut short with a small jade clip behind her left ear. She stared directly ahead with gray eyes that glinted like naked steel in the light. "How?" The woman howled, "I thought they were all gone, sure, there was one like them at the tail end of the Tokugawa, but I got rid of him, got rid of his entire family." A tear fell from the corner of an eye. Even the children, she knew they had done nothing, but their existence was a threat to the Earth, just as it had been to the Silver Empire. "I have to be rid of this woman, before she can ascend." She turned, and her deep eyes drilled into the woman's image, burning it into her mind. "The threat must be eliminated." She declared solemnly, fading from sight.

To Be Continued...

A/N: The plot thickens and things are progressing forward, I decided to introduce the beginning of the SM element in this chapter, as I had planned this chapter covers some of his training. Don't worry, it won't be for another couple of chapters that the two elements meet. I hope to keep a somewhat steady pace in this fic, as it is becoming easier to write as I progress. A couple sticky spots slowed it down some, but I should hopefully have enough free time away from RL to continue at this pace for another chapter or so. X signing off.


	4. Brewing Storm

Outside of all that exists, in a place where nothing existed, yet existed everywhere at once, a tall dark woman with green hair streaming down her back stood holding an apparently ivory staff, this staff was in the shape of a key, a heart filled with a garnet orb at the top. She stared into a hole in the nothingness, a gap within the every shifting chaos of time. This gap was surrounded by ornate doors depicting angels and demons, this was what was known as the gates of time. The image within the open gates was that of a woman, auburn hair cut short with a small jade clip behind her left ear. She stared directly ahead with gray eyes that glinted like naked steel in the light. "How?" The woman howled, "I thought they were all gone, sure, there was one like them at the tail end of the Tokugawa, but I got rid of him, got rid of his entire family." A tear fell from the corner of an eye. Even the children, she knew they had done nothing, but their existence was a threat to the Earth, just as it had been to the Silver Empire. "I have to be rid of this woman, before she can ascend." She turned, and her deep eyes drilled into the woman's image, burning it into her mind. "The threat must be eliminated." She declared solemnly, fading from sight.

**In Darkness In Fire**

BY:XZero

Disclaimer: I own nothing...

**Chapter 3 - Brewing Storm**

Tsukino Usagi awoke in a cold sweat that morning, dreams of fires engulfing the pristine and ornate structures of white stone that composed the capital of the Moon Kingdom, the place she could not remember, but fought for. She realized that she didn't remember much about this kingdom she fought for, but she desperately wanted to make a difference, and knew that the old enemies of her people would not rest until they had destroyed or conquered the world. That part of her life was done, with Galaxia laid to rest no others remained, at least, that was what Setsuna told them. Despite the shifty and unreliability of her presence at their meetings, the senshi of Pluto had proven reliable, if only in dire straits. The hunter tressed school counselor, who moonlighted as a scantily clad expositionist soldier of love and justice, had given them clearance to relax, youma's had become somewhat of a rarity in the peaceful weeks following Galaxia's demise. Usagi went shivering into her bathroom, a western style restroom meant to accomodate her and minimize spacial requirements of the house. These smaller things weren't as comfortable as the spring-style bath's that most people grew accustomed to, but her family never had been very traditional, having adopted the western style long ago. The water drew quickly into the comparatively small tub, and she undressed quickly and sank to her eyeballs in the blissfully hot water. "Man, what was that about?" She whispered softly to herself, wondering when her pregnant advisor would be home. Luna had been returning less and less in the past months, she seemed to enjoy remaining with her kitten and Artemis at Minako's home, and as much as she wished she could, the oft-time meatball head could not find it in herself to hold a grudge for it. She closed her eyes and rested in the water, rinsing the film of sweat from herself as she tried to relax. Today was a sunny Saturday, and there was no school today, pending the reconstruction of the gymnasium at her school. The official story had been that it was a gas leak, as most schools in the district were prone to report. There was no way any respectable citizen of the "real world" would ever acknowledge the existence of the sailor senshi publicly, or recognize the strings of public youma attacks. She sighed deeply, she had tried to relax, but her life was turning closer to that of politics, she was supposed to be a queen one day, and despite apparent lack of maturity, she was trying to be prepared for the endless bureaucracy she faced. She would be prepared, but first, it was time for breakfast.

* * *

Saotome Ranma also awoke in a dread that morning, unremembered dreams haunting him still into the waking world. He shed his blanket and rose quickly, albeit unsteadily, his muscles ached from the past few days spent at his mother's home, the home in which he was raised from infancy. This room wasn't his though, all of those things were destroyed in the destruction of the original Saotome home. He cherished this space though, it was the first thing that was truly his own, the last thing that was his alone and none else's. His bare feet made padded thuds as he walked toward the bath, his supplies tucked under one arm. He knew that his mother was awake and waiting for him at the breakfast table, the wonderful smells and steady ki signature in the dining room was proof of that. The new skills he had gained since his arrival had been extremely useful, and he would be the first to admit, that some of the action animes contained some good ideas. He couldn't use most of them, but he could indeed adapt quite a few. Dragonball Z's concept of the spirit bomb was a genius use of environmental energy. The Spirit Detective's techniques were great, however, and had set him to thinking about how to adapt these things to his own usage. He had only seen that one show, but the concept of spirit energy was fundamentally the same as ki.

He flinched as the cold water struck him, causing his body to... shift, all this time and countless changes, the best way to describe it would be shifting, it was like he could feel his body changing. The hardened and well cut muscles in his torso expanded, becoming softer, albeit still quite firm breasts. All the other parts of himself seemed to collapse in on themselves, shrinking as it were. The most disturbing part of it all was the part of a man that most considered the manhood, it was as if it just disappeared, falling inward to become something else entirely. On more than one occasion he had walked into the restroom to relieve himself and almost forgot to sit down, standing having been a reflex that had been part of his life in the wild for years. Suddenly though, Jusenkyo happened, and he learned things no man should learn. His knowledge of the female anatomy was more intimate than any man could ever dream. He knew everything about it, because it was part of his training to know his body. Scrubbing himself clean took moments, but as always, those moments seemed to drag into eternity, the rough surface of the sponge drug across her body. He would never admit it, by certain parts of him always reacted no matter what he did when he bathed. He finished and nearly dove into the furo, eager to regain his gender. "Much better." He smiled and chose to soak for a moment, indulging himself in the heat. His deliberation, whether or not to remain in the furo much longer than he had, ended when his stomach grumbled in rage, protesting the amount of time he had spent not feeding it. That decision made he hurriedly dried, dressed and groomed himself, pulling his hair out of a pigtail for once to allow it to dry faster.

Nodoka had risen in the early morning, as false dawn began. A quick bath and she was dressed and beginning her chores for the morning, she could feel from his ki that Ranma was still sleeping, and would be for quite some time. Awaking early to watch the sunrise was a habit she had started years ago, allowing herself to remember that if she had one connection left to her son, it was the heavens, no matter where he was, they still shared the sky. So to this day she watched the stars, and took that time to prepare herself for the day, drawing in her strength and continuing, which for a long time was all she could do. Depression threatened her world more than once, and she had almost fallen into it several times throughout the years, but always she remembered the sky, and brought herself back from the despair that her lonely lifestyle created. The sun peeked over the horizon and the pre-dawn phantoms were banished, long shadows hanging on to life in the growing light dispelled by the awesome celestial torch. Taking a moment more to appreciate the sky, Nodoka went about preparing breakfast for herself and Ranma. She anticipated an intense hunger, and went about making a large meal, one which she was sure would readily be devoured mercilessly. She was not to be disappointed, she felt her son awake and go through his morning ritual, the one that he seemed to develop while he was here. Few words passed between them, aside from their time spent conversing over breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Or the time she instructed him, but other than that, they moved in silent harmony.

"Good morning mom." The raven haired young man said, yawning and stretching himself like a cat, back arched and every bit of him extended for several seconds. "Good morning son. Breakfast is still warm, so eat up." She smiled to him, and began her meal, just as Ranma started his uncanny impression of a Hoover.

Their meal was spent talking about things that were mostly inane, Ranma relating his traveling experiences, while Nodoka listened. Then, in turn, she would relate to him stories of things that she had done during his absence. It was a poor replacement, but they wanted the closeness that was lacking. Even now, they weren't as close as a mother and son should be, and their rituals had started to build a bond between them other than that of instructor and pupil. The meal ended, and they carried the flatware into the kitchen, where they deposited it in the sink. "The dishes are yours to do this evening Ranma. Do not tire yourself too completely to do them, like you have done several times in the last few weeks." The auburn haired mother admonished, a smile crossing her features.

* * *

Mizuni Ami walked calmly toward the Hino Shrine, schoolbooks tucked under her arm, and a gentle smile on her face. Ami was known to be a bookworm, and as such, she tended to spend the majority of her time reading, but the less known side of her was the one that enjoyed nature. It seemed odd for someone like her, but there was nothing in life more enjoyable than resting in the shade of the Sakura trees, reading while the wind played with her hair. That was how she had been when she realized that the senshi meeting was today, and that she should be right on time if not a few minutes early if she left and traveled on foot. It was this that brought her to her current location, standing at the foot of the stairwell that led to the shrine proper. She exhaled audibly and proceeded up the steps, adjusting the books in her arms to make it easier to lean forward against the shallow steps. Arriving at the temple she was surprised to see Yuuichiro not working, but rather standing with Rei, talking, and from the seem of it, they were doing so companionably.

Ami's light footsteps took her closer to the pair, but all too quickly, Rei spun around and faced her, surprise written clearly across her face. "Ami! You're here early." She seemed to freeze, trying to find her way through the situation at hand, her eyes were wide and panic stricken. Ami laid her friend's fears to rest, a gentle smile and a finger touched to her lips and pulled across. Rei's eyes widened further for a moment, and then returned to normal. She had gotten Ami's message, and Ami merely cantered into the house, leaving alone the temple's inhabitants.

Hino Rei, a modern everyday rich girl, priestess, devil hunter, was spending time with her closet boyfriend, someone who had been there as he could while she was going through her hardest times. Yuuichiro had been there when it all ended, waiting patiently for her, and when a crush betrayed her, it was he who held her while she cried, held her despite her protests. Even while she beat on his chest, punching at him with all her diminished strength, he held her, solid and unflinching. At the end of it, she was falling asleep, but she would never forget what she heard when her tears stopped, "I'll be here for you..." He hadn't asked anything of her, he just wanted her to be happy, a change from the few boys she had dated, all of whom were interested in the innards of her skirt rather than her. A stream of tears rolled down her cheek at the thought, and when the calloused hand wiped away the moisture, she smiled. "Me and the girls are going to do our homework, could you make sure no one bothers us?" All the older man did was nod, and she knew in her heart that he would do so.

She walked into the room where they met, in her part of the house, near her room. Ami sat reading from a college level Chemistry text, Rei passed her friend with a grateful nod and smile, into the bathroom to wash her face, to erase the tear tracks from her otherwise unblemished skin. She took a moment to look at herself in the mirror, marveling at the lack of marks, battles had injured her all over, but when it was all over, and the fuku was gone, replaced by her normal civilian clothing, nothing remained, she would feel tired, but never would an injury leave a scar. Not since she had first donned the unorthodox armor.

Aino Minako and Kino Makoto had once again proven their inability to procure male companionship for even a single evening, quite simply, the two girls couldn't get a date, no matter how hard they tried. This morning found them walking together up the stairs of the Hino shrine, intent to join their other comapnions within the holy grounds for their meeting. It had become more of a formality, an excuse to get together and hang out. They went inside to find everyone else already there, Usagi snacking on some candy or another, while all the others chatted amiably. The only one not present was Setsuna and the single man allowed to know their business, Usagi's boyfriend. Neither one's absence was surprising, however, as all had become used to not seeing either. The first came and went as she pleased, while the second was off studying overseas.

"So what's new you guys?" The sometimes senshi of Jupiter asked cheerily. Everyone at once started, "Well, I had this weird dream last night." That caused a shared confused glance, before Rei began in the growing silence. "It was the Moon Kingdom, burning. Everywhere there were people fighting."

Usagi continued, added to the creep factor. "There were people lying dead in the streets, and I had the feeling that we were fighting." Ami chimed in now, her soft voice haunted as she recalled the unusual dream.

"It was Armageddon, everything destroyed or burning, ashes from the sky carried by the wind." Mokoto started where she left off. "A giant storm enveloped everything, it was like God was angry at the moon or something." The senshi of Venus finished it all. "It was the end." Each whimpered lightly when the tingle shot down their spines, each reliving that moment. They gazed at the Outer senshi though, none of which looked like they had shared in this dream, as they appeared shocked. Usagi, ever cheerful was the first to recover, casting a questioning glance at the three young women, two of whom were cuddling, the third occupying herself with a sad gaze that ended in space. Michiru and Haruka both answered to the negative, shaking their heads. It was only then that Michiru noted the odd expression on her adopted daughter's face.

"What about you guys? Did any of you have weird dreams?" Her genuine question seemed to make the youngest of the senshi even more distant and sad, but a touch on the shoulder fixed that, causing her to perk up immediately, startled by the sudden emergence back into the real world. "Huh? I'm sorry, what was that?" She asked vacantly, not entirely aware of what was said.

"I asked if any of you had any weird dreams recently Hotaru, have you?" Usagi was getting worried, usually the little girl was quiet and shy, that was to be expected from an introvertive person, but never was Hotaru known to be inattentive. That just wasn't like her, so when she had spaced out through her question, the meatball headed heroine's features became a concerned puzzlement. She did not have long to wait, however, the raven haired girl responded in an odd voice, one filled with sadness, a voice that carried throughout the entire room, reaching all ears despite its lack of volume.

"I was in a weird place, there were people everywhere, and they seemed afraid of me, not strange, but they were fighting me, and I was killing them, but they were winning. I… I used the Silence Glaive, and… then everything goes away, the whole planet, gone." She broke down into silent tears then, her body wracking from the sobs. "I didn't want to hurt them, but I had to, they were bad people." She cried because that wasn't the whole truth, she was sad because she couldn't tell them the entire truth, she didn't think they' accept her after something like that. She killed warriors, that wasn't anything new, but what she couldn't bear to tell them was that in addition to these fighters, she had killed entire families, children, mothers nursing their babies, everyone. She couldn't tell them that when they started to gain the upperhand, she had destroyed a planet, annihilated it, and left its remains as a belt of asteroids. It was for this that she cried, for the souls of those who died so their future could be, begging forgiveness for doing so.

* * *

Ranma felt the strength within him grow, and could touch it now, months had passed since he had first picked up that practice weapon, since everything had started, and now, he had reached the plateau, the same one his mother had reached, the one she claimed that she could never rise above. She encouraged him to create new techniques of his own, to mark the world with a style of combat that would shake the foundations of martial practice forever. That was what he was doing, he realized, he had started to master this art, and would have it perfectly integrated into his own soon enough. He realized that it was now the time to take his stand, he needed freedom, and he had to forsake his name to do it. With that thought he fell into sleep, mind whirling at what would be done the next day.

Nodoka felt the coming storm, it was as if it were brewing inside her, something would happen soon, something big. She hadn't the slightest clue how right she was.

To Be Continued...

A/N: Well, this is it, the third chapter of IDIF, I hope you all enjoy it, please send reviews if you do, I really like those. Anyhow, as promised, I am setting the stage for the next part, and hope you will enjoy it. I'll try to maintain as close to this pace as I can, but between college and looking for work I'm going to be pretty busy for awhile. **Next time: The Storm**


	5. Point Of No Return

Ranma felt the strength within him grow, and could touch it now, months had passed since he had first picked up that practice weapon, since everything had started, and now, he had reached the plateau, the same one his mother had reached, the one she claimed that she could never rise above. She encouraged him to create new techniques of his own, to mark the world with a style of combat that would shake the foundations of martial practice forever. That was what he was doing, he realized, he had started to master this art, and would have it perfectly integrated into his own soon enough. He realized that it was now the time to take his stand, he needed freedom, and he had to forsake his name to do it. With that thought he fell into sleep, mind whirling at what would be done the next day.

Nodoka felt the coming storm, it was as if it were brewing inside her, something would happen soon, something big. She hadn't the slightest clue how right she was.

**In Darkness In Fire**

By: XZero

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

**Chapter 4 – Point of No Return**

Within the meeting area of the pretty soldiers a tension had been drawn between them, Setsuna's words were haunting and dangerous, if indeed there were a threat capable of ending them entirely what would they do. Apparently, time was something they didn't have the luxury of; something had to be done with the one woman, a creature of immense evil masquerading as a human. They were all indecisive, all of them wary of this, uncomfortable with ending a life, especially one that was in all purposes human. Setsuna had admitted that she would have done it herself, but she didn't believe that her power alone could handle the woman, something that had stunned the senshi. This was their omnipotent and infallible bastion of wisdom, yet there was a foe that she could not conquer? As one though, the thought that they must do something solidified their resolve, something must be done. They would strike the following night, when innocents would be safely in their homes, away from the conflict zone. None save Hotaru were truly hesitant.

Haruka and Michiru were confused, all others had had a vision in their dreams, visions that Setsuna said were warnings about the enemy they would face, a reminder of their terrible power. As they drove those three outers could only think about why. Hotaru's thoughts were different from those of her parents; she was instead wondering why the people had to die, why she had to kill again. From what she learned in school, destroying this woman would be no different from Hitler's strike at the Jews in World War II. She knew she couldn't share these thoughts; her parents were too dedicated to their mission, too devout as sailor soldiers to truly listen to her. She understood them, but no one could understand her, and the terrible power she held, something that made her wonder about the difference between the woman at whom they were to strike, and whether when all was said and done would they do the same to her, a person too powerful to leave alive.

Haruka, and her blue haired partner alike could only wonder at the meaning behind their lack of dreams the night before, why hadn't they received the same warning that the other senshi had, what was different between them that they were not warned? They could only find one answer to the question; they were dead or not there. Both were truly disturbing and something they didn't want to truly know the answer. This would be one thing that would be puzzled out or left alone, the pair could only hope that they too would receive some idea of what truly went on, something in their dreams to reassure them of what they were fighting for.

* * *

Usagi walked home in not quite so silent thought, moving sluggishly through the streets, she could not be sure, but something didn't feel right, something about doing this, it just didn't feel right. Her downcast expression carried her throughout the streets, and all but home, when finally she looked up, she saw her house looming ahead. She didn't really want to go home, because they were sure to see her troubled mind, and ask questions she'd rather not answer. That decided she found the ladder and silently clambered up to the roof, content to watch the stars for a while, unknowing doing the same as a pigtailed man, as he decided his future.

* * *

Ranma awoke at sunrise, the gentle yet intense light of the morning rousing him from peaceful slumber upon his mother's roof. "Today is the day." He yawned to himself, and rose fluidly. He stretched his back, and leapt from his perch to the ground, landing with a soft disruption of the dirt, nothing more. He strode calmly into the kitchen, basking in the serenity of the house, and of his mind, trying desperately to capture this, knowing that for quite some time turmoil would be the best of his thoughts. He walked calmly to the table and sat, knowing that this may be the last time he'd taste his mother's coking for quite some time.

Breakfast was a grand affair at the Saotome home this morning, mountains of food piled onto the table. Nodoka said it was because he would need his energy today, but he sensed something off about her mood, but didn't want to pursue it, content instead to spend time with his mother. The auburn haired woman seemed to come to a conclusion, and broke the companionable silence.

"Ranma, if ever I should die, I want you to have this sword, claim it as my student, and as the last of our blood." He knew to what she referred shortly after she had married, her parents had died. She had stated that she feared that she would not live to see him married at the rate he was dealing with women. None of that was important.

"Come on mom you're not gonna d…" "Ranma, promise me." She countered sternly, giving him a look that said without question that she needed this reassurance.

"Fine mom, I will claim the sword when you die, though I still think it will be a long time from now." He said, finishing his breakfast. "I have to go deal with the mess at the Tendo place, I'll see you later." He stood to leave, and had only made it to the door before he was turned about face to be crushed in a hug by his mother. "I love you son." She said, her voice wavering. Ranma was dumbfounded, but could only return her hug. "I love you too mom. I'll be back in a while, I promise." She looked at him a moment, memorizing his features for a moment before that serene gaze returned, she was content.

* * *

Ranma had left his home after giving his mother another hug, and kiss on the cheek. His journey through Nerima didn't take long, perhaps a half hour before he stood before the gates of the Tendo home, hoping that as he had instructed, Nabiki had gathered the Wrecking Crew. "Only one way to find out." He muttered and entered, wrapping himself in his defenses. The soul of ice coated his roiling emotions in a layer of frost as he went.

The Tendo dojo was full of people, all seated throughout the dojo, wondering why he they had been told to come here. All wondering what could be so important that Ranma had removed them from their daily activities to get them here? Also wondering what every other was doing here. Their idle chatting was silenced when the pigtailed man entered, his face a mask of icy detachment. The look on his face causing those who were about to demand he explain himself to falter, stopping them in their tracks as a shiver traveled down their collective spines.

"You are all wondering why I call you here, and now you will find out why. For a long time this has gone on, some of you chasing me, others still after me for one reason or another. It is long past time that I gave you all my decision." He paused for an instant, lending tension to his words, and forestalling any interruptions by giving them a chance to speak, no one spoke. "I, Saotome Ranma, hereby renounce my name and all that goes with it. I am ronin." Genma winced, and nodded, Soun along with him. That was when the two older men stood. "Saotome Ranma, you are hereby banished from the Saotome clan, stricken from records and mind. Your mastery of the martial arts is great, and if you defeat me you will be granted your license to continue practicing your art, do you accept these terms?" The pigtailed ronin nodded his ascent. He was about to continue when Happosai followed that statement. "Ranma, m'boy, you have been the best student I have ever had, your ability to learn is unsurpassed, and frankly, I have nothing left to teach you, it is time for you to grow and improve on your own." Everyone else was still too shocked to do much anything other than gape, even as father and son stepped outside, and took stances facing each other on opposite sides of the koi pond, Soun close behind to stand as judge. "The rules are simple; the first to submit or be rendered unconscious is the loser. As fitting with our school, this is an anything goes match. Hajime!"

No sooner had the Tendo patriarch announced the start of the match then both opponents leapt toward the center of the pond, coming together in a flurry of blows. Fists and feet struck out at their opponents, each man hanging amid the sky for what seemed forever before bounding off the other toward the ground. That time they stood square facing the other for a moment, checking their opponent, gauging him. They knew that Ranma would win; he always did in the end, especially when it mattered, but Genma refused to allow his son an easy victory. A gust of wind lifted a leaf, and in some unspoken signal, both men returned to the air, the Saotome School's specialty zone of combat. It was mere moments in the air that took them to the next level of combat, pure anything goes elevating from a contest of skill and strength, into one of spiritual power and skill. Auras shot up around them, springing to life as unbridled power. Both men were masters of their art; the only difference between them was the recognition of their peers. It was now that things were laid out, this was an all or nothing bout, and the deep violet and golden bonfires surrounding the two men were a testimony to the solemnity of it.

"Time to show you what I've learned old man, get ready!" Ranma shouted as he blurred, charging forward at extreme speed toward his father, fist cocked back and preparing for a devastating haymaker. "We'll see who shows who boy!" Genma blurred forth himself, striking out with his forearm, disarming his son of his punch with a hard block which caused a flare of both purple and gold, energy warring for dominance, though the darker color won out, its placement meant to break and redirect momentum. The older man struck out with a solid blow to the solar plexus, sending the air out of the younger's chest, even as he was sent tumbling backward.

"Soul Flare!" Ranma bellowed as he recovered in midair, tossing a swirling golden orb at his sensei and parent. It had taken him some time to understand and devise this technique, having had to gain control enough over his energies to coalesce it as an orb, and keep it that way, but his ingenuity and perseverance had won out over the difficulty, and the aurulent sphere impacting his father was proof. A sick fascination washed over him as he watched the ki ball strike his parent and explode, detonating and sending the stocky man flying backward same as himself.

That moment of fascination did not detract from his landing, falling having been drilled into muscle memory long ago. Just as his feet contacted the earth he tucked into a tight ball and rolled, springing to his feet from such instantaneously. He was on his feet just in time to watch Genma rise, and rose the stakes himself this time, more power drawn from within and from without, maxing out his reserves in a titanic display of power. It was only Genma's experience that saved him from paling, instead raising his own power to a healthy level, albeit one lesser than his son's.

"Shin Genma Tama!" The brilliant dark orb shot at him, giving him barely enough time to erect a defense. The golden glow around him concentrated into his palms, and was the padding for his hands as he caught the blast, though he was forced back from the pressure. He was being pushed hard, everything from Genma's bag of tricks lain to bear. Misdirection was a key point when fighting any opponent who was a serious threat, and Genma was a master of that art as surely as he was of the Anything Goes. It was a battle that required control and precision, something the younger man had refined supremely in the past months. "Moko Ryou!" Ranma cried, and with an inarticulate yell to follow the first the aurulent power in his palms swelled and shoved against the inky sphere, pushing it backward, and toward Genma, until his blast won out, the darker lost cohesion, failing and screening the golden beam that his son was maintaining in a steady and tight stream.

The bald master could not believe his eyes, after being caught almost entirely unaware; his son had caught his ki attack, something that was practically unheard of. What shocked him greater than that was that he pushed it back and punched through, winning the contest of strength. He had no escape from this, and could only brace himself for the coming impact.

A resounding explosion rocked the foundations of the Tendo compound, marking the end of the Aerial Anything Goes mastery duel. The inhabitants of the dojo house, and the various martial artists and masters stepped from the wooden training hall as the dust was clearing; standing amidst a blazing golden aura of raw strength was the newest master of the anything goes. Laying several yards away in a heap at the base of the compound wall was his father, unconscious. Tendo Soun could only nod his head solemnly, having expected this outcome; Ranma was an untamed spirit, bound only by his own sense of honor, a fighter of unrivaled ability. "I hereby announce the ronin Ranma the winner. With his victory, it is my honor to be the first to welcome him as a master of the Musabetsu Kakuto Ryuu. Congratulations son." The raven haired man stated firmly, and then at the last, warmly. He smiled as the young man went to his father, and collected him, walking swiftly into the house to lay him on his futon in what used to be their bedroom.

* * *

An hour and a half later, the stocky master of the arts awoke, his mind hazed by his lack of awareness, though that swiftly cleared as he recalled the details surrounding his time lapse. "I'm proud son." He whispered as he lifted himself to his feet, knowing that his son would await him in the dojo. His journey there took only a moment, and as he suspected, the raven haired young master sat in meditation. The Saotome patriarch sat opposite him, and spoke.

"Ranma, this day has been a long time coming, while I am sorry that my actions have brought you strife, I can't help but be proud of your handling it. You made a very difficult decision, one that has taken a great deal from you in order to preserve the honor of many others. I regret not telling you how proud of you I have been all these years. Please forgive this old man for his errors." Genma spoke softly, yet there was no trace of anything other than sincerity in his voice.

The pigtailed ronin smiled softly. "I thank you Saotome-san, and though it is no longer my place to call you such, I wish to convey to you with the utmost sincerity, my gratitude, you were the only constant throughout my life, and I will always be proud to have had the privilege to be your son. Thank you for giving me the means to become who I am." At that both men stood, facing each other briefly before jumping forward to hug the other fiercely, the love a father and son showed openly for just this once, long enough to build a memory that they would cherish for a great deal of time to come.

* * *

Awhile later Ranma was headed to his mother's home, his step carrying no little amount of jubilation in it. He walked casually, and would reach his mother's home quickly at this pace, within the next few moments in fact. That was when he felt the spike of energy. His mother was a blazing beacon at full strength, and this beacon shined with killing intent staining the serenity that was usually the feel of her aura. Her energy was waning though, and it wouldn't take much longer for her to fall entirely. His pack forgotten he dashed toward her home, his mind frantic about what could cause this.

To Be Continued…

A/N: I know I said that I would have the end of the beginning this chapter, but this cliffhanger was just too perfect. I intend to give you all an emotionally heavy chapter soon so I wanted to clear the path for that before beginning the heavy stuff.

**Technique Translations:**

**Genma Tama: **Dark Horse Shot. See chapter 1, "Blood's Remembrance" for details

**Moko Ryou: **Fierce Tiger Finish. A stronger version of the Mokou Takabisha, refined and better controlled.

**Soul Flare:** This is a rather quick adaptation of something he saw on television, while a station was playing an old episode of Night Warriors, aka Darkstalkers. This attack is originally used by Morrigan Aesland.


	6. The Storm

Awhile later Ranma was headed to his mother's home, his step carrying no little amount of jubilation in it. He walked casually, and would reach his mother's home quickly at this pace, within the next few moments in fact. That was when he felt the spike of energy. His mother was a blazing beacon at full strength, and this beacon shined with killing intent staining the serenity that was usually the feel of her aura. Her energy was waning though, and it wouldn't take much longer for her to fall entirely. His pack forgotten he dashed toward her home, his mind frantic about what could cause this.

**In Darkness In Fire**

By: X-Zero

Disclaimer: I own nothing

**Chapter 5 - The Ascending Storm**

Everything was a blur, at one moment, she had been standing in the center of her dojo, having just finished warming her muscles to prepare for training when the feeling of foreboding suddenly went quiet, followed by the roof caving in. At first she wondered who had just crossed into her home and attacked, thinking it was one of her son's adversaries, then things had steadily gotten worse, in the span of seconds she was surrounded by figures right out of some ridiculous sentai manga. It was only the immense power that they were giving off that warned her of the real danger. A green haired staff-wielding woman stepped forward, forestalling the ready made speech that the apparent leader was going to make.

"You are a threat to the future; your kind must be eliminated." Without further warning she leveled her staff at the auburn haired swordswoman, grinning maliciously as the energy coalesced around the head of the key-shaped silver staff. It was utterly silent, and according to her senses, did not exist, the words she whispered as the energy shot toward her were lost as a horrible sound that no mortal creature could convey echoed forth from the attack. A sense of agony carried within the dark orb, though its name was muffled by her comrades announcing their attacks. Weapons of the various elemental energies all stream toward her, dodged by narrow margins and taxing her stamina steadily as she was forced by their very nature to evade rather than block or parry.

"Dou Ryu Sen!" she whispered as she channeled her ki through her blade and struck the wooden floor of the dojo in a circling cut, the floor around her exploding outward, forcing her opponents to leap quickly into the air to avoid the wooden shrapnel. That was the instant of reprieve that she needed, switching stances quickly and charged toward the staff-wielder. Several testing strokes of her blade later she was on the defensive again, striking out and dodging the hailstorm of blows from the senshi of Jupiter. Narrow slices in the bodysuit of the sailor soldier's uniform caused Makoto to slow, and in an instant, her defenses were overwhelmed, causing her to miss seeing the strike that made all go dark. A pommel punch to the base of the skull caused the senshi of lightning to sink unceremoniously to the ground, unconscious. It was far from over then, however, as the senshi of air chose to take up the challenge, this woman was very good with her sword, but never could she match the soldier of Uranus.

The Space Sword appeared in her hand as she made the motion of the draw and rushed toward her adversary, striking with a low-high right diagonal, only to find her impressive speed lacking. Nodoka halted Uranus' blade with the side of her own, smiling condescendingly as they locked gazes for an instant. They leapt back and clashed again, brilliant sparks flying up between the two blades. Uranus was fast, and strong, but her strikes lacked the grace that the auburn haired woman's motions did, and it did not take an expert to tell she would lose if these exchanges continued. Both women leapt back again, though the leaps produced different effects, Uranus slammed a fist into the floor, bellowing out her war cry.

"World Shaking!" Her shout caused a gold and titian sphere to pass violently along the dojo's floor, leaping up toward Nodoka swiftly, even as the other woman made her own attack.

"Kurenai Tama!" The crimson orb shot from her hand and struggled against the attack of the sailor soldier, though it was only moments until the auburn-haired woman's technique punched through that of the senshi of air. It was too late by the time Uranus realized that her attack would not succeed, and even as the crimson shot rocketed toward her, albeit largely diminished by the strength required to surpass the World Shaking. She stood her ground and grit her teeth as the orb struck her, nothing she could do would keep it from hitting its mark. The bullet of ki struck her in the chest, and felt as no more than a very strong punch to the chest, stunning for a second but nothing more. That was when Nodoka flowed toward her again, striking out in a complex pattern that Uranus could only frantically block and parry, looking desperately for a way to counter. Her defense wasn't so nearly as solid as she hoped, and tiny cuts in her arms began to reflect this. It was all she could do to lock blades with the woman, each grasping the other's sword arm to prevent further attacks. For the sandy blond senshi, this was a great reprieve, and her teammates saw her need of assistance.

"Flame Sniper!" The raven-haired soldier screamed as she loosed the pinpoint flame arrow. Her position was beneficial, as it was flanking the swordswoman, and would be a sure hit. Her congratulations were cut short when the Saotome woman pushed away from the other senshi, leaving the dust blonde soldier of air off-balance and unprepared for the plasma arrow as it cut through the air toward her. Not enough time to move, thought Uranus desperately as she tried to brace herself for the fiery projectile. She winced as she expected the arrow to pierce her flesh, but smiled in relief when she saw the flames wash against a barrier of seemingly nothing. It was only moments later that another silent movement of energy was released, slamming into the auburn swordswoman. Hotaru had covered her, but why had she not attacked, this would have been over by now had she done anything other than the Silent Wall to protect her adopted parent.

* * *

Sailor Pluto was exultant, relishing this moment as she prepared her attack. _Finally, she is the last, once she is gone, the future will be safe and secure._ She didn't count on Nodoka rising to her feet, even if she did so unsteadily. The temporal mage's attack had hit home on unprotected flesh, and the immense pain from it had drained a great deal of her energy. The Saotome matriarch took a stance and prepared herself, all the stops were released now. She charged the first she saw, and watched as the others swarmed to defend her. This was her chance, a deft sidestep of the orange trimmed senshi's chain attack she did the quick spin, momentum increasing as she brought the slash at the end. "Ryu Kan Sen!" Venus was down, her stomach opened and barely kept from dying by the strong protective magic her sailor soldier armor granted her.

It was not enough though, that the auburn haired swordswoman had downed one of their allies with a vicious attack like she did, more to the point was that suddenly, everything was covered in a thick layer of frost as Mercury released her defensive spell. Everyone took a moment to catch their breath as the mist floated about in the remains of the dojo. Heavy breaths could not even fog in the heavy mist that covered the dojo, maintained even in the heat of the noon day sun.

Nodoka started audibly, and realized her mistake as the green haired woman's staff, and their leader's strange weapon began charging, not that she could see either, but sensing one she thought it was the only one. Her mistake was not because she was surprised; rather it was because she felt Ranma approaching fast. He would be here soon, and she needed to either finish this, or hold out long enough for him to help. "Dead Scream." "Moon Gorgeous Meditation!" Hundreds of tiny energy signatures sprouted in her senses, there was no way to dodge them all, but block them, yes that would do.

"Ikusen Dageki Satsu!" Her sword flashed in a whirlwind of silver blurs, smacking the solid light shards away, and noting their dissipation after the fact. Her senses received a shock when she heard that same horrible sound. It was only made worse when she heard her son scream as her concentration was lost and the last of the light shards struck her, followed closely by the dark orb. In that last instant, she was at peace.

Ranma had arrived, begging the kami for more speed, channeling his energies internally he pushed his body to its limits, but on his arrival, he could only see that it wasn't enough. He had arrived and been stuck in place, could only watch as his mother lost her concentration and was consumed by the joint power of the senshi. His mind shattered, and for the first time, he could do absolutely nothing, paralyzed. To his credit, he staggered toward his mother's limp form. Upon reaching her he dropped to his knees, tears welling up in his eyes as his world broke. His mother was gone, and he could do nothing to save her. That was when he felt it, felt that block that his mother spoke of, felt it degrade and shatter, his power was incredible, but nothing would bring his mother back into his life. Nothing could give him back the parent that he had so recently regained. He didn't seem to see the senshi around her, all poised to attack. Nor, upon reflection, would he care, they weren't important right now, holding his mother was, being with her now, as he heart stopped completely, as the last of her spirit faded forever from this world. That was important.

* * *

_Flash_

He was just a child, and he could remember his mother tending the scrape he had gotten playing.

_Flash_

A day spent finger painting with her, smiling and happy.

_Flash_

It was time to leave, his father and he stopped at the door, and he had given her a hug,

_Flash_

For the first time in years, he had a mother, and she was proud of him

_Flash_

_Flash_

"MOTHER!" He screamed to the heavens, cursing everything. He was hurting, and nothing would stop his revenge.

* * *

_Flash_

With that the raven haired youth rose to his feet, tears dripping from his chin, head tilted to the Earth casting a shadow over his features. Each of the sailor soldiers could only stand in shock and fear though, this young seeming man was the son of this woman. They had killed someone's mother? Setsuna hadn't told them that this woman lived a normal life, was a normal woman. They had assumed her power was no different from the other incredible powers they had faced, alien and unnatural. Ranma's eyes suddenly went alight with the fires of his very soul, his power coalescing into a large and still swelling orb of putrid green. In his arms he clutched his mother's body, hugging the woman who gave him life.

"You people, why?" He asked, and in a calm whisper that was betrayed by his obvious pain he mouthed, "Shin Shi Shi Hokodan." The volume did nothing to change the immensity of the attack, and the sailors scrambled to get clear of the looming and wobbling bomb of power as it fell to earth, releasing enough to crater the ground all around them. In his depression Ranma was unaffected by the attack, just as it was designed to, the sailor soldiers were not so fortunate; their ranks were caught in the blast area and could only struggle to hold their ground. They had only approached in their normal sailor transformations, unaware that they might need the power of the super sailors. He was on another level entirely, and could only be described as a titan of power. Pluto, Saturn, and Cosmic Sailor moon held their ground, though only barely.

"Why did you do it?" He screamed as sadness transformed into rage. Around him bloomed a scarlet aura of immense power, radiating sadness and pain, but most of all, they felt the intense heat of the glow. The senshi were afraid now, because as powerful as the last had been, his strength was growing, and they could see painted across his features was sadness that had been twisted by the scar of watching his mother die. The pain-filled and menacing aura that had sprung up around him was there still as he sunk to his knees, caught in a helpless rage that sent tendrils of energy lashing about the ruined dojo, tearing cleanly through walls, destroying the building around them. It was a pitiful sight, and more than one of the senshi felt tears come to them unbeckoned.

* * *

Makoto cried unabashed, she knew his pain, her parents having died long ago, and she still felt the pain of their passing. She had raged before, and lashed out at those around her because she felt that her parents had been stolen from her, but never did she realize just how wrong she was, she didn't have to see them die, she didn't have to know that there was someone who killed them, robbed them from her. This was too much to bear, watching the young man cry over the motionless form of his mother.

Grouping together, they could only retreat, perhaps if they retreated, they would be able to get some answers. Saturn was the only one to not move, she was frozen in place, crying for what they had done. She knew that she had done nothing to help the other soldiers, but she could not help but remember the pleading faces of the people from the last Saturn's final hours. She could only allow herself to be surrounded by her friends who helped the wounded amongst their number join the circle and let their transport carry them to safety. "Why?" She whispered to herself, "Why?" No one answered her question, no one heard her speak, but it could be surmised that even if they had, none of the inner senshi could answer, they were all still reeling from the scene.

It was not until late that night, after no answers had been forthcoming; after a dream that woke her in a cold sweat, along with all the other inner senshi, did Usagi realize what had been done. Only then did she realize that she had murdered that boy's mother, taken him from her without provocation. It was in the name of the future, and of the safety of earth, right? She came to understand that they had only seen a tiny bit of what would inevitably come from this. That boy's power was immense, enough to rival even her own when she was at her peak, enough to level the entire planet. What sort of enemy had they made that day? Would he come for revenge? She shuddered as she lifted her body to wash her face clean of the sweat on her brow, feeling the clammy slimy skin of her forehead. The warm water helped her feel better, but when she looked up from the sink, and into her own eyes reflected in the mirror, she saw the haunting fear that she felt. She spoke then words that were repeated many times that night, by several other teenage girls. "Dear god, what have we done."

To Be Continued...

A/N: I know that this one is kind of short, but I will admit that this was the best I could manage without causing the effect to seem overdone and drawn out. I hope that this is a satisfactory chapter. The second act will begin as soon as I can get it written. For now, leave reviews, I'm begging you. Also, I would like to note that I was only able to do this better than a meager 1500 word chapter was because of the song that Oneshot linked to on his update for today. I don't know who composed the song, but I agree with Oneshot, the song is built for powerful messages, and while I can only scratch at the depth he manages, I hope this has done something for at least one of those who read this. Without further ado, the technique translations.

**Technique Translations:**

**Ikusen Dageki Satsu:** Thousand Strike Kill

**Kurenai Tama:** Crimson Bullet

**Dou Ryu Sen: **Most might recognize the name. It is a technique originating in Rurouni Kenshin, and as you might guess, it is Nodoka's grandfather's school of martial arts. I have searched for a translation, and have found only this one, if I am wrong, please inform me. No, Rurouni Kenshin will not play a major part in this, especially because I feel it a bastardization of Samurai X. Anyhow, the name means Ground Dragon Flash.

**Ryu Kan Sen:** I am led to believe that this means Dragon Wrap Sword.


	7. The Chosen path

Grouping together, they could only retreat, perhaps if they retreated, they would be able to get some answers. Saturn was the only one to not move, she was frozen in place, crying for what they had done. She knew that she had done nothing to help the other soldiers, but she could not help but remember the pleading faces of the people from the last Saturn's final hours. She could only allow herself to be surrounded by her friends who helped the wounded amongst their number join the circle and let their transport carry them to safety. "Why?" She whispered to herself, "Why?" No one answered her question, no one heard her speak, but it could be surmised that even if they had, none of the inner senshi could answer, they were all still reeling from the scene.

It was not until late that night, after no answers had been forthcoming, after a dream that woke her in a cold sweat, along with all the other inner senshi, did Usagi realize what had been done. Only then did she realized that she had murdered that boy's mother, taken him from her without provocation. It was in the name of the future, and of the safety of earth, right? She came to understand that they had only seen a tiny bit of what would inevitably come from this. That boy's power was immense, enough to rival even her own when she was at her peak, enough to level the entire planet. What sort of enemy had they made that day? Would he come for revenge? She shuddered as she lifted her body to wash her face clean of the sweat on her brow, feeling the clammy slimy skin of her forehead. The warm water helped her feel better, but when she looked up from the sink, and into her own eyes reflected in the mirror, she saw the haunting fear that she felt. She spoke then words that were repeated many times that night, by several other teenage girls. "Dear god, what have we done."

**In Darkness In Fire**

By: XZero

Disclaimer: I own nothing

**Chapter 6 - Sadness and Sorrow**

The night surrounding the Tendo home was neither particularly dark, nor stormy, but in the air there was a certain heaviness that hung like a shroud. Even Kasumi sat lethargic in the living room. The news was just coming on, something Nabiki insisted upon watching, something about keeping with current events. The lethargy that kept them still was broken quite suddenly when the news began with footage of a house in ruins, a house they all recognuized immediately. That was the Saotome dojo in flame.

"Oh my!" Broke the silence, and Genma and Soun both turned their attention away from the Go board to look at them all, the smoke rising from dojo sent the bulky martial artist on alert, his abject fear causing him to rush toward the television. Nabiki turned up the volume and the reporter on-scene's voice echoed in their ears.

"Welcome to the 6 o'clock news, tonight we have a special report. On the outskirts of Minato ward, a terrible crime has been committed. A home gone, with witness reports claiming the sailor senshi responsible. These accounts say that the senshi attacked and destroyed the dojo, engaging in a rather loud and violent struggle that shook the neighborhood. The occupant of the house was said to be home, but no traces can be found other than torn clothing and blood suspected to belong to one Saotome Nodoka. Investigators say that a young man was seen dashing from rooftops moments before emergency teams arrived, in the direction of Nerima ward. Police have yet to file an official report, and we will keep you up to the minute on this apparent betrayel by our nation's greatest heroes. I'm Kaneda Ichiro with Channel 7 news."

The report was devastating, and the entire household was in shock. Their world was swiftly becoming unraveled by the news, and it did not help when the urgent knock at the door came. Kasumi, shaken from her reverie, set herself back into the mask of courtesy and rose to answer the door, receiving another great shock when it was Ranma who she found. It had started to rain, and the normally raven haired young man, was a busty scarlet haired vixen at the moment. The eldest Tendo daughter became frightened at the bundle she carried in her delicate-seeming arms. The care with which she held her burden was all the more convincing of what it contained.

"Kasumi..." The shaken young woman whispered, her voice hoarse from the tears that seems to have mixed with rainwater. "Where's pop?" She managed, albeit after a moment for the sobs to once again wrack her body, expression was gone from her features, she looked hollow. Had Kasumi not been sure to the contrary she would have expected that the young woman was malnourished, but she had eaten just yesterday, and as far as Kasumi knew, there was no way that Auntie Nodoka would allow her child to not eat breakfast this morning.

"Please, Ranma, come in." She ushered him in, calling out to her family urgently. "Everyone, come quick!" She hollered, gaining their attention much faster than usual, as Kasumi never screamed, never raised her voice, was always polite. It took seconds for them all to arrive at the door, where Ranma stood, tears streaming, though they appeared to be slowing.

"Ranma, what is the meaning of this?" Soun asked, his expression horrified at the sight before him. Genma was unable to speak, and could only stare blankly at what he just knew could only be his wife's prone form. His son must have carried her here, but, no. His wife was immeasurably powerful, stronger than he, he knew that, accepted it, she couldn't be gone. Genma felt heat on his cheeks, and when he raised a hand to one, he found it wet.

"No-nodoka?" He managed weakly, using his moist fingertips to point vaguely at the bundle that his son carried. To his utmost horror, though one he knew he had expected, the redhead nodded faintly.

"They, they..." She couldn't continue any further, and began once again to weep, though this time, unlike the wracking sobs, she wept silently, quickly enveloped by a soothing embrace. The eldest Tendo girl, such a blessing. Though it seemed that it wasn't the eldest, and that, totally uncharacteristically, it was the youngest who held Ranma in her arms, making soothing noises in her ear, rocking the smaller girl back and forth. It continued in that way, an entire family stricken silent, Nabiki staring blankly, Kasumi shedding silent tears, and the two men of the house collapsed to their knees. They had both lost someone today, one man had lost his wife, the other could only be reminded of the loss of his own wife. Everyone was silent, the entire house was silent, no sound, nothing.

* * *

The next morning brought Ranma out of the nightmare with a firm shock, she rose, gasping and sweat soaked. It was just past dawn, and she felt so incredibly tired. She looked around frantically, she was in the room she used to share with her father at the Tendo home, but what was she doing there? She was staying with her mother this weekend. That was when things began to bleed back into her mind, the fight, her mother's death, her empty return to the Tendo's but from there, everything blurred. One fact that did not escape her was a warm embrace and soft comforting whispers in her ear. Akane... They'd talk later, but for now, all she wanted to do was sulk.

Genma sat in a drunken stupor on the porch, looking dazedly at the Go board, unable to concentrate at all. He wobbled and wept, prompting his long time friend and training partner to rest a caloused hand on his shoulder, reassuring him in a soft tone. It all degenerated from there, the taller man would be in no position to do much anything for some time to come.

Kasumi moved through the kitchen dejectedly, slowly going about her morning routine. Akane and Ranma would be going to school this morning, despite the events from yesterday, Ranma could not afford any more missed days, Akane was going with him for support. As Nabiki had once predicted, without the pressure of the engagement hanging over them, Akane was a great deal less volatile toward him, she had no reason to be. Even if she did believe that boys were a bunch of perverted jerks, Ranma had more than had all the opportunity in the world to trap any one of them in a relationship that would have left them at the tender mercies of any perversions he had. He hadn't, instead, he had gone out of his way to be the complete opposite, he had done things for their family that were not only hazardous, but downright torture. She felt a smile cross her features briefly as that thought came through, but just as quickly it vanished, taken from her by recent events.

* * *

Days went by, and the cold emptiness that had settled over the Tendo home remained, Nodoka's funeral was to be that evening. As per custom, a Buddhist funeral was held, the master swordswoman's remains were passed about in delicate ceremony, and at the end, the Saotome man, and Nodoka's student sat amidst those offering condolences. Ranma though, did not accept them graciously as his former father did, instead, he burned with a depressed rage. He knew who had taken his mother, and he would make them pay. He gazed upon the urn that sat atop the shrine next to that of Tendo Kimiko, there was no longer a Saotome home to house the shrine. He swore then, his mother's murderers would pay. That night, the ronin called Ranma fled the Tendo home, resigned to begin his bloody quest. He would start with the scrolls that held the final test, something his mother was planning to guide him through, now he'd have to learn on his own, and learn he would.

Ranma was not the only one horrified and outraged by the actions of the senshi, the Prime Minister called a meeting, and it was decided that the 'heroines' of the Minato ward were to be named public enemies. The news the next morning would reach the ears of the citizens of the world simultaneously, and with this, a campaign would be waged. Genma refused to take part in it, he had been injured grievously by the death of his wife. He stated to the man, over the phone, that a young man, a ronin who Nodoka had taken as pupil, would carry the blood feud in his stead.

* * *

Tsukino Usagi awoke just as she had the past few nights, a cold sweat coating her skin. She had taken a human life, or at least, aided greatly in taking it. Setsuna had been wrong, none of the evils they had faced, no battle they had fought prepared her for what she felt now. That woman's face, her son's anguished cry, it had all taken its toll on her. Here it was, only a handful of days later, and already she could not eat. Something her family noticed. She couldn't explain to them, she couldn't find the rationale of it herself, how could she expect her family to understand?

She tucked herself into the fetal position and wept, remembering the meeting yesterday, after the senshi had had time to gather themselves, recover from the battle. Come to terms with their actions.

* * *

_Flashback_

The Hino shrine was by its nature a warm place, but the leaden clouds looming overhead and the lull of the sacred fire detracted from the warmth it lent to the rest of the home and temple. Nine women sat in the young priestess' room, none comfortable with speaking first. Setsuna, Sailor Pluto, broke the silence with her usual monotonous tone.

"That woman was, what was known in the age of the Silver Millenium, as a Dark Knight. Her very existence was a danger to our world. No matter what comes of this, none of you must ever doubt that she was our enemy, and given enough time, she would've destroyed us all." She spoke with all the correct inflection. She paused and strengthened her tone at all the right places, but they could all see the fanaticism beneath her mask of cool indifference. It was something they had never seen in the hunter tressed woman, a bloodthirst that frightened them.

The meeting ending soon after and the outer senshi excluding Hotaru left the shrine house. The diminuative senshi of Saturn expressed her wish to remain, and stay over with the other girls, haruka was hesitant at first, but she and Michiru acquiesced after a short but intense barrage of puppy-dog eyes. It was only an hour later that the thoughts bubbling in the minds of the teenage girls overflowed causing a break in the girlish giggles and seemingly never-ending argument between Usagi and Rei.

"What should we do? The news is showing us as murderous vigilantes, Setsuna insists that what we did was right, but can any of you say you don't regret what we did?" Usagi asked, a rare moment of clarity showing through the often flighty superheroine. "Setsuna told us this woman was a monster, but did she ever do anything like our enemies in the past have done. She was at home, in a dojo. Something tells me this is all wrong." She confessed in detail, drawing the awed stares from her friends.

Ami was the first to collect her thoughts, gathering them into detail, and beginning her statement. "While her motives seem suspect Usagi, Setsuna has never led us astray. I don't believe she would just tell us randomly to attack someone, there must be precedent. She must not be telling us something." The senshi of Mercury's voice, while worried in tone, had a clinical air, one that was likely the reason for her reputation in school. Ami was always looked upon as cold, though she smiled, others felt her intelligence created a boundary between her and others, or at least, they would if they stopped to wonder why they felt uncomfortable around her.

In tried and true fashion, ever passionate Rei was next to put forward her opinion. "I trust Setsuna, but perhaps a fire reading would help, the Sacred Fire can answer even the most confusing questions. The others nodded in agreement, but even as they began to stand the others one by one piped in their general consensus to Setsuna's conclusions, each moment, Hotaru became more and more nervous. When finally it came to her, the others were shocked to say the least.

"Um, the other day, when all of you had that dream, I didn't want to say anything but I had a dream too..." She paused summoning the nerve to continue, tears welled in violet eyes, threatening to pour forth even as she choked out the rest of her tale. "Everything was dark, and I was Saturn, the old Saturn. She was fighting, I was fighting, there were people everywhere, I was killing them, at first I thought they were soldiers, they were all strong, and had weapons, b-but they started not having weapons, starting getting smaller. Children, mothers and their children. I was murdering them. The soldier men came again, they were all really strong, we heard something, it sounded like Setsuna's voice, telling us to use the Death Reborn Revolution. We followed orders, and then I woke up." Hotaru was crying now, tears of pain and remorse spilling down her porcelain features. The others looked at her in shock, not truly understanding, Rei was deep in her meditation during the entire thing, and so missed it. The inner senshi, plus Hotaru leapt in shock when the flames jumped skyward, the heat intensifying as an image began to form within the wildly flickering flame.

Darkness enveloped the room, swallowing all but the images captured within the blaze of the sacred fire. Blurred edges and flickering permeated the picture, but the scene within cleared in moments, becoming a crystalline display. Foreboding overtook them, and they observed. A dark shrouded man holding high his head was their first glimpse into this ghastly sight. He stood, surrounded by the pretty soldiers, daring them, his awesome might dwarfing their own. It was when things began when they truly became horrified, he seemed to be everywhere at once, a cold and murderous glint in his eyes, which even in the blurred conflict, shone out like beacons. His mouth moved, but no sound other than the crackling of the ancient inferno came to their ears. As quickly as it began it ended, each of the inner senshi dead, their lives taken by fists, the edge of the same crimson blade that he held, or even shockingly, by the same magic they had seen the woman wield. It was only when all her soldiers were dead, that Sailormoon brought forth the strength to fight him, an epic battle for what it was, he would strike again and again at her, and the shield summoned from the crystal weakened as the blows rained against it. Finally, their conflict ended, a sword through the silver princesses heart, while a shard of light pierced his eye. Both fell, and around them, the ruined remains of Tokyo burned.

Shocked gasps issued from the collected sailor soldiers, terrified by what they saw within the sacred fire. Rei's eyes opened as she gasped in air, sucking it down like a drowned woman. Her chest heaved and the tears that refused to spill in her eyes told the story. What they had seen in the fire had been a pale comparison to one such as her, she was more sensitive to the energies surrounding the flame. When she turned to look at them, she was unsurprised that the sacred fire had shown them the same answer it had given her. "I asked what would happen, what we had done, whether it was right, and it answered." She whispered, frantically praying that this fate would be spared them. Usagi was most affected it seemed. She alone had withstood the test of time, she alone remained after every encounter that took the lives of her fellow senshi, when Beryl's minions killed them, she was left alone, when they were cast aside by wiseman, she and Chibi-Usa stood alone against inconceivable odds. She would see her senshi die again, and would only live to die stopping him.

"Is this really how things will be, will he really kill us all? No enemy has had feelings, none of the demons before have had someone to love them, no one had come for revenge." She didn't want to die, moreso, she didn't want her friends to live in fear. Her thoughts, and those of the inner senshi were interupted when the voice of confidence filtered through the room.

"This is what I had been hoping to prevent, the Dark Knights were dangerous, and that was the power of a Dark Knight. I don't know why you had this reading, but perhaps now you will believe me when I say that this threat must be eliminated, for the safety of the future, and the present." On that final note, Setsuna, Sailor Pluto, disappeared with a negligant motion of the Time Key.

Each of the inners was left with a sense of dread, something about this didn't seem right, but then, Setsuna was correct, no matter what, they must proceed forward, he would attack them now, and all they could do was hope that they stopped him before he killed them, and all that they knew. Crystal Tokyo must be preserved.

_End Flashback_

_

* * *

_

All had most definitely not ended well, she didn't want to take anyone's life away, never again, it already ate at her conscience, the look on her face as Setsuna's blast caught her, the feeling she received as she watched her own attack inflict the lethal strikes. Tearing into her chest and stomach. She tried in vain to banish that from her mind, tried to push it back and prepare for school, though she did not feel up to attending. It would take too long to convince her mother she was ill, so she trudged to the bathroom, showering only momentarily before dressing and lifting her bag as she left her room. She didn't put her hair up as she usually did, instead gathering the blonde tresses at the nape of her neck. She shambled stoically toward her school, not taking notice of the world around her. Today would not prove a good day, of that, she was sure.

To Be Continued...

A/N: I know it has been a long time since my last update, however, I want to let you all know that I was flooded. You see, I graduated just awhile ago, and so I was busy until very recently. I will be leaving for Portola (obscure Californian town an hour from Reno, NV) for awhile, which might help improve the rate of update, as the last couple chapter were written there. This chapter, and the next might not be to my usual standard, though I'm trying to keep them such, but please, bear with me. One last thing, review, I know it seems all too common to read that word in author's notes, but receiving those seems to revitalize my muse in ways Mountain Dew will never be able to manage.


	8. Knight of the Dark

All had most definitely not ended well, she didn't want to take anyone's life away, never again, it already ate at her conscience, the look on her face as Setsuna's blast caught her, the feeling she received as she watched her own attack inflict the lethal strikes. Tearing into her chest and stomach. She tried in vain to banish that from her mind, tried to push it back and prepare for school, though she did not feel up to attending. It would take too long to convince her mother she was ill, so she trudged to the bathroom, showering only momentarily before dressing and lifting her bag as she left her room. She didn't put her hair up as she usually did, instead gathering the blonde tresses at the nape of her neck. She shambled stoically toward her school, not taking notice of the world around her. Today would not prove a good day, of that, she was sure.

**In Darkness In Fire**

By: XZero  
Disclaimer: I own nothing.

**Chapter 7 - Knight of the Dark**

Training was progressing, and through the scrolls, Ranma had learned the techniques of his ancestors, each was powerful, but the techniques are paled by the ferocious precision the very style itself calls for. He could recall vividly how the sword and unarmed styles seemed to move toward these techniques, guiding him toward them. In the dark of the morning, two weeks following his mother's death he'd been training non-stop, he wasn't normally the kind for revenge, but those witches took his mother, murdered her, and he'd repay them that, they'd pay, even if he must damn himself to do it.

* * *

_Flashback_

It was storming that night, and a long kata, one meant to focus the mind before the use of the technique he was attempting. _Focus yourself, call upon the power within, focus the energies of your knight's-blood, and envision the lance. See the target, know you will strike true. _Inner monologue reminded him of the procedure, he'd read over that passage for hours, days even, until now, when he finally understood. He realized that his ki production had tripled since he began training with his mother, and then, again it had doubled during the moment that he held his mother's lifeless body. Now, this he understood.

His kata halted, he moved swiftly toward the center of the dojo, to face the wooden dummy, one of the many that carried his own semblance. His brow knitted in concentration, though that swiftly disappeared, once, twice, three times did he fail, the energy backlashed within him, striking hard at his very spirit. Struggling to his feet he found himself unable to concentrate any further, and felt that it'd just be stupid to try the same thing again, the words came to him, and with them, he felt that he now truly understood the words of his ancestors. Settling into a horse stance he once again started this time though he listened to the voice of his mind, the one that spoke well, the one that didn't react with insults immediately, one that was ignored for far too long during his stay in Nerima.

_Focus yourself, call upon the power within, focus the energies of your knight's-blood_

His mind and body were harmonious, he felt the power swelling within, the new and strange energy, so much like normal ki, but more potent, undiluted by self.

_Envision the lance._

He saw the concept, and cocked back his fist, opening it into a knife-edge. Letting the energy gather in his arm, envisioning the western lance and gripping the invisible ki construct.

_See the target, know you will strike true._

Faith, he must have had it, because as he settled on the wooden training target that was before him, everything clicked, all fell into place. A grin of satisfaction danced across his lips briefly, just long enough to show through the confident fighter that he was, this was his element. His hand shot forward, his right leg moving in union with his arm.

_Stomp_

"Anei Mori!" His shout pierced the night, waking several people, but what struck him was not their screams of protest, but rather the ghostly violet weapon that shot forward from his fist, piercing the chest of the dummy and continuing through the wall of the dojo. He watched in stunned awe as it finally struck the far wall of the compound and detonated, spewing chips of stone across the street. He peered sheepishly through the hole in the wall, if this was the first of the techniques of this school, than he had much work to do before he could proceed. That had drained him far less than he believed it would, but he nonetheless felt the drain. Perhaps the technique to draw the energy of his environment was an integral part, it had after all been one of the first things he'd been taught. He wasn't a master of it yet though, so he'd have yet a great deal to practice.

_End Flashback_

* * *

That technique had been a pain to learn, but learn and progress in skill with it he had. He'd had other techniques as well, some more powerful than that, but most were merely supportive of the core techniques of the school. They were in no way restrictive, however, the scrolls from which he studied these gave examples and advised on modification, whatever was needed to suit the performer's needs. It was this that truly made this style his own, traits that his improved studies had shown him to be genetic. He guessed, probably accurate, that these were traits of his mother's family. He checked her family's registry, simple research of his lineage, only to find that his family had a long history of invention. Most notably in the areas of war, he found that the earliest record was of a man whose prior lineage had been lost. Most likely an orphan of the war, his name was listed as Kamiya Shinta, taking his wife's last name upon marriage. From there, years of inventors, craftsmen, and politicians littered the registry.

His families history stretched back only two-hundred years, and he wondered at the rest. He wondered what sort of person developed these techniques, when they were invented, things like that. The scrolls were written in an ancient form of Kanji, and were more than slightly yellowed from time, but evens till, what sort of man could develop such a technique.

* * *

_Flashback_

The day was unbearably hot in the wake of the storm that had continued to rage for days, now though the heat made his movements sluggish, though his idea of sluggish was still beyond superhuman. His stamina was a testament to his motions, graceful, and quick. The Shadow Lance was within his grasp, at a moments notice he could discharge it in full control of its power. Now it was time to move on, the next technique would take just as much effort if not more so to control.

_Look back upon your past, seek in your mind the wrongs committed against you, against your family, against your blood. Look for the anger of your people, find their fury and grasp it as your own. Use this power, strike now, achieve Vengeance._

He was, as with the Shadow Lance, confused by the meaning of these words, they were written with no real guide to the power, the words following meant nothing, not without the ability to use such a technique. So now he struggled, looking for things that bothered him. He was never a person to hold a grudge, and so had forgiven transgressions quickly, hoping that his tomorrow would be better than the hell he'd lived in every yesterday. His mother was gone, and the artless view of the world he'd held before had dissipated when that thought rose to his mind.

_Look back upon your past, seeking your mind the wrongs committed against you, against your family, against your blood._

Ryouga, he was a friend in times of need, sure, but on every day other than those few times he'd helped him, all of his motives were selfish indulgences. His refusal to come to terms with his own choices, his continued slanderous remarks, everything about the other young man's actions and words were a direct insult to him. Sure, he had his redeeming qualities, but they were too few.

Shampoo, a tragic case her. He knew that if she were to return home without him, she would be ostracized by her peers. Forever to be marked a failure. Her society was one of strict laws, and he could not bear the thought of her facing that fate because of his actions. That was no call though for her underhanded tactics. The casual use of arcane potions, items, and things of the like were an insult, something he could not stand. She abused the trust he had given her, and had caused far more troubled than she was worth.

Mousse, another worthless challenger, perhaps the worst. His refusal to use his glasses made him a danger to those around him, regardless of who they might be. A simple case of mistaken identity could lead to an innocent person's death. Perhaps if his attacks had accuracy and justification, maybe then he would see him as a real enemy, but even so, Mousse was willing to take hostages, another facet of his Amazon heritage, another thing that was not acceptable.

_Look for the anger of your people, find their fury and grasp it as your own._

Those around him, the regular folk of Nerima were harmed by the presence of those around him. Akane beat those who came at her, but she had her reasons, however, skewed her response was. Ryouga would charge through others to take a shot at him. Mousse would throw his knives casually, even if they missed and struck an innocent. Shampoo, she would attack anyone she felt an obstacle, he'd had to make it clear to her after such an incident that if she did so, he would be forced to hurt her. This was their rage, which fed his own desire.

_Use this power!_

The energy coalesced within him, traveling as a river of flame toward his fists, gathering there. Power that pulsed and warmed the flesh, leaking from his fists in a visible crimson display.

_Strike now!_

The gathered energy was becoming too much to handle, it burned in his hands, demanding release. Slowly, for the power within his fists made them heavy, he pulled them toward one another, simultaneously stepping from his horse stance into a classic fighting stance. His fists came together, power arcing between the two. Almost painfully he opened his hands, increasing the flow that threatened to overwhelm.

_Achieve Vengeance!_

"Adauchi!" He shoved his hands forward, directing the energy toward the wooden training dummy, a newer one, less abused than his last unfortunate training partner, though it too bore his semblance. The power rocketed forth, blazing through the air, to strike the target. He had hoped this one would not damage the dojo too greatly. His hopes disappeared along with the dummy, the crimson stream that pushed forward enveloped the dummy, continuing on in a steady stream of power, one that threatened to bowl him over, he hoped that this strength would run its course soon.

And so it did, the force of the power finally overwhelmed him, and he was shoved backward. The wall shook even as the aura around him disappeared, the beam of crimson vanished, and he was left unconscious, sprawled on the dojo floor.

_End Flashback_

* * *

When he had awakened, Kasumi was tending his injuries, nothing more than a few tenderized ribs, and a mild concussion. He was back to training the next day.

"It's time for the third one, this technique is the only one left before the final technique." He thought to himself aloud, looking down at the yellowed parchment scroll.

_Seek within the awesome might, seek within you the will to fight. Find your power, burning, raging, eternal. Frenzy!_

The dojo's lights were dimmed, and the ending of day lessened the ambient light of the room, causing long shadows to cast themselves over everything. Ranma focused his strength, focused his mind, seeking the trance-like state that had before granted him access to his newfound power. The cool breeze stilled, though even now his clothes, his hair, everything within the dojo still fluttered with a wind that belonged to him alone.

_Seek within the awesome might, seek within you the will to fight._

Since his first day of training, martial arts was the ultimate form of expression for him. With his body he could communicate all the things he could never say. This was his will, his very life was a battle. He was in constant contest with everything around him, even himself at times.

_Find your power, burning, raging, eternal._

His power was stemmed not just from training, he knew that now, but from the will to continue fighting, he realized that against Saffron. He knew that he shouldn't have been able to defeat the Phoenix god, he knew that against the Lord of Phoenix Mountain, he was a trifling fighter. But he had persevered, luck, skill, ingenuity, they were his real weapons in that fight.

_Frenzy!_

"Nenshou Kyoubou!" The world snapped into focus, and an aura of power erupted around him. He came then to an epiphany, here, now, within this dojo, he was invincible. With this thought in mind he began to exert his will, he was faster, stronger, tougher. His classic ki blasts were instantaneous. Everything was perfectly clear. Training in these techniques, was complete.

* * *

_Minato Ward (Three and ½ weeks after the fateful meeting)_

Usagi was still reluctant, but until she could do otherwise, she would continue in her course of action, hoping that things could be resolved. Three weeks, nearly four had passed and still she could not banish from her mind the image of Tokyo in rubble, burning. She could not live with that fate on her conscience, though she knew that if that came to pass, neither she nor he would survive.

* * *

Ami too pondered the battle, and hoped to find something within the seemingly endless data within her Mercury computer, she researched the Dark Knights, and came to a conclusion.

"Setsuna's vendetta is going to kill us all." She whispered, having found the data, having found the log of her own predecessor.

_I write this now to clear my conscience, hopefully, whoever you are, you are not a member of the conspiracy the senshi of time and the silver queen have been orchestrating. It is my duty, as a defender of the empire to know the goings on, and throughout the years, dissent has been growing among the lower classes. Commoners are becoming poorer, while the nobility of Luna is growing fat and decadent. I have done my best to fix things, but at every turn I am halted._

_In the last year refugees from another system have been escaping to our worlds. The Dark Knights last system was destroyed in a conflict, and so they came here, and have been steadily making the planet Vulcan habitable. They are an amazing people, though Pluto seems to be urging the queen to use them as an enemy, to unite the peoples against them. They are to be the scapegoat through which she reclaims her popularity among the masses. May the Gods help us, for we are sure to pay for this._

_Princess Mercury  
Senshi of Ice  
Aria Frost_

To Be Continued...

A/N: Well, I'm in Portola, and on the third day that I sat down at the computer, this entire chapter came to me, I hope to have it uploaded by the end of the day. Consider it a ID4 gift. As standing with tradition, I will give you the translation for the techniques used. **Review!**

**Techniques Translation:**

**Anei Mori:** Shadow Lance

**Adauchi:** Vengeance

**Nenshou Kyoubou:** Burning Rage/Frenzy


	9. World Changing

_I write this now to clear my conscience. Hopefully, whoever you are, you are not a member of the conspiracy the senshi of time and the silver queen have been orchestrating. It is my duty, as a defender of the empire to know the goings on, and throughout the years, dissent has been growing among the lower classes. Commoners are becoming poorer, while the nobility of Luna is growing fat and decadent. I have done my best to fix things, but at every turn I am halted._

_In the last year refugees from another system have been escaping to our worlds. The Dark Knights last system was destroyed in a conflict, and so they came here, and have been steadily making the planet Vulcan habitable. They are an amazing people, though Pluto seems to be urging the queen to use them as an enemy, to unite the peoples against them. They are to be the scapegoat through which she reclaims her popularity among the masses. May the Gods help us, for we are sure to pay for this._

_Princess Mercury  
Senshi of Ice  
Aria Frost_

**In Darkness In Fire**

By: XZero

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

**Chapter 8 - World Changing**

_Hino Shrine_

The senshi arrived one by one into the safe confines of the Hino Shrine, another meeting discussing their situation, they seemed to do that a lot recently, talking. Mars hated that, they decided that they'd fight, they had no other choice it seemed, Setsuna was sure from her examinations of the possible futures that the Dark Knight would continue his campaign against them until his bloodlust was sated.

"Where is Ami?" One spoke, they'd never be sure which of them spoke, especially when the answer would shock them all to the core.

"I have bad news." Setsuna's voice came suddenly from behind their meatball headed leader, startling the girl. Usagi dropped her soda into her lap, spilling the fizzing liquid over her skirt, as well as the manga that lay there.

"Don't do that!" She exclaimed, but sobered when the part about bad news finally registered.

"Wait, bad news?" She asked hesitantly, it was unlike Ami to be late. The senshi of mercury was if anything punctual. The gathered senshi sat dead still afraid of the answer.

"Mercury was on her way here, the Dark Knight attacked her. I'm afraid that she is dead." No emotion touched her voice, none that could possibly be discerned by the dumbstruck soldiers. The pretty soldiers were on the brink of tears; Usagi though, usually the one to be reduced to a tearing mess first, was strangely silent. Tears threatened to burst from her eyes, but resolution instead seeped from the cerulean orbs.

"Peace is not an option. I ask you princess, for Ami's sake..." Pluto had hit the all the right buttons, everything would happen as she expected, as the future depended. The shrine stopped simply being a meeting place at that moment; now, it was a war room.

* * *

_Tendo Dojo_

A musk enveloped her senses, making her head float and swim through the thick air. It was warm, moist; human sweat, no doubt. Kasumi could see someone lying prone some ways into the darkened room. The night air behind her was cool, but from the remaining thickness in the room, she could tell that he'd just finished workout. It was just like him to work himself past exhaustion. A soft sigh escaped her lips.

"Oh Ranma-kun." She strode quietly toward the young man, a subtle shake of her head almost imperceptible. She disapproved of his recklessness, but she couldn't honestly fault him. His mother had been stolen from him, cruelly taken. She herself could remember vividly the day of her mother's death. Cancer seemed to appear from nowhere, and all too soon she had been taken to the hospital. Tests, visits, tears, they all blurred together for the brunette.

She shook her head, trying to clear the thoughts, stave off the memories. She didn't want them. As much as she loved her mother, she couldn't bear to remember her like that. Memories of her childhood, days when she would help her mother with chores, help her cook. She preferred those memories, memories of happier times, when the most important thing was her mother's smiling face.

Her revery seemed to shock her, and the tears that had threatened to spill began to do so. She sank unsteadily to her knees, the pain of the bad taking place in her mind over the good.

"Kasumi-chan?" She could hear Ranma's tired voice in the background, beyond her pain. She reached out; he was inches from her, speaking softly though she couldn't understand him at the time. It was all she could do to clutch onto him, clinging to his shirt, sobbing madly. She could not remember how long she was there, or when she stood next, but she was glad, glad that they had not taken Ranma as well.

"It'll all be okay Kasumi, it'll all be okay." He whispered weakly, though his voice was gaining strength as he realized the need.

The first rays of morning's light woke the chestnut haired girl, awoke her to a sight that brought a smile to her weary features.

"Ranma-kun." She said barely stifling a yawn. "Oh my, breakfast." She started. Standing quickly, she straightened the wrinkles in her skirt.

"Kasumi, I'll take care of it, you take a bath and get changed." The eldest of the Tendo sisters nodded, albeit, reluctantly, moving into the house and toward her room.

With that taken care of Ranma went toward the kitchen to make breakfast, that night had earned him his latest technique, the succession technique, Harumagedon. The entry was vague, and he had exhausted his energy supply in using it, but he had it, and could remember well the feeling of raw power he'd been filled with.

* * *

_Flashback_

The dark of night had come, the moon was new, and darkness loomed over the streets of Nerima. That is not where we watch, however; within the Tendo compound a young man repeats the same motion over and over again. Thoughts racing, examining and re-examining a single passage.

_Your strength is not enough, nor will it ever be. A force of nature presents itself to you, grasp it, take hold of the flames and seek justice. Call those who have trespassed against us before judgment. Release Armageddon._

He understood, he'd learned throughout his study of this style that it was reliant on natural energy. Though he'd never tried the natural thermal energies that surrounded him. Fire was hardest to grasp, hardest to hold, and even more difficult still to control. Straining himself, he pulled at the elemental energy; using his own ki to form it, control it, but never did he try to confine the flames. The energy buildup was fast, as fire fled to its like, pulling in more and more energy exponentially.

Ranma wondered what it was that he was supposed to do with the power that he held; wondered what it was that it was meant for. It was when he felt the power becoming more and more violent that he understood, release it, unfocused and unfettered.

_Call those who have trespassed against us before judgment. Release Armageddon._

"Harumagedon!" His almost exultant cry pierced the night, shaking birds of prey from their perches in frustration as their prey fled from the noise. Dogs barked, and then were silent. The entire world seemed to still, all but one man. Ranma's body ignited, going up in a blaze of flame. Though he remained untouched as his body sprang forward at the dummy.

_So this is Armageddon._ The pigtailed man reflected as he felt himself moving throw hundreds of killing blows in seconds, watched almost from outside himself as each strike left a distinctive scorch on the reinforced training tool. He felt the energy fleeing him, felt his body begin to shut down. He had been tired before, but from the sudden extreme soreness spreading throughout his body, he could feel the strain that this put on him. Into darkness, into fire, thus his mind went blank.

_End Flashback_

* * *

There was some more fine-tuning to be done, things that had to be learned in order to control the power of the technique, but revenge would be sweet; "After all." Ranma reflected as the food finished cooking. "Revenge is a dish best served cold."

* * *

_Somewhere_

The darkness lifted from the world around her, and now she could see. She was lying on a cot rough canvas scratching her skin. But as she continued to scan her surroundings nothing made sense, around her was a shifting void, incongruous with the Earth that she knew.

"I am sorry Mercury, but you've learned too much, things must go as planned." Came a familiar voice, immediately recognizable to the bluette. _Setsuna?_ Ami's eyes bugged as she took in the scene around her.

"What are you?" That was when the girl noticed Pluto's stance, holding the time key as she was. The garnet orb was leveled at her, and the energies of a Dead Scream were gathering as silently as ever around the jewel. Ami knew that escape was impossible, but perhaps she could do something. Her mind was racing for the answer, if only she could find it.

"So, it really was a conspiracy." She stated, seemingly unconcerned about the apparent betrayal by her fellow senshi. She had a plan, and hopefully she could execute it soon.

"It makes no difference, the Dark Knights must be eliminated, they are threats to the common good." She said resettling her stance a bit, shifting to adjust to the weight of her weapon. Still the dark energies swirled around her stave.

"Why?" The haired teen asked desperately, hoping to understand the why of things, as well as waiting for a moment to transform, she could fight the senshi of Pluto, but not until she was able to transform.

Setsuna was unconcerned with time, knowing that as she stood here, holding the senshi of Mercury prisoner, that the were formulating a battle plan. They were readying themselves for the coming conflict, sure of the vengeance that they sought. Everything was going to plan, she had plenty of time to finish her off.

"If you must know, it is because they are too powerful, they are a threat to us and everything around them. They had enemies Mercury, do you understand what could mean for us? Not even the queen realized the threat that their enemies posed. If left to their own devices, they would have been our downfall. For the future, both then and now, they must die." She said, fanatical faith painting hysteria through her voice.

"Murderer." Ami spat, choosing now to take her chance. She threw her thin blanket at Pluto creating a curtain between them. As quickly as she could she flung herself to the side, hoping that she was right in assuming the green haired woman would fire her shot when the distraction came at her. The horrifying wail behind her confirms it.

"Mercury Crystal Power, make up!" She shouted, the transformation going only for an instant before she emerged from it as Super Sailor Mercury. She dashed away from Pluto hoping to gain some distance to recover and formulate a battle strategy.

"Dead Scream!" The name of her spell preceded the banshee's wail. She could not believe the cunning of the girl, distracting her with such obvious technique. Now she would either have to abandon the girl here, or risk compromising her plan. She would be late if she delayed any further.

"Damn!" She growled in frustration as she twirled the staff, opening the gates of time long enough for her to slip through. The senshi would need reassurance as they neared the fruition of their plans.

Mercury was careening through the void, the shifting chaotic motion of what she guessed to be the housing area for the gates of time, somehow she'd find her way back, somehow she'd warn them. Somehow...

To Be Continued...

A/N: Good god, this is actually getting thick. I saw how the first draft of this painted the portrait well, albeit rather cut and dry. So now, this, a thickening of the plot. Enjoy it, and review like your lives and the speed of my updates depends on it. The latter is true by the way, not the former, I like you all too much to kill you off, lack of an audience and whatnot.

**Technique Translation:**

**Harumagedon:** This means Armageddon, pretty simple. It requires the user to grasp elemental ki, particularly that of fire, and hold it within them until the savage elegance of flame envelopes them. Instead of releasing it in a blast, you release control over the energy and are tough enough to not be burnt out.


	10. The Red Fang

"Murderer." Ami spat, choosing now to take her chance. She threw her thin blanket at Pluto creating a curtain between them. Even as she threw the blanket she flung herself to the side, hoping that she was right in assuming the green haired woman would fire her shot when the distraction came at her. The horrifying wail behind her confirms it.

"Mercury Crystal Power, make up!" She shouted, the transformation going only for an instant before she emerged from it as Super Sailor Mercury. She dashed away from Pluto hoping to gain some distance to recover and formulate a battle strategy.

"Dead Scream!" The name of her spell preceded the banshee's wail. She could not believe the cunning of the girl, distracting her with such obvious technique. Now she would either have to abandon the girl here, or risk compromising her plan. She would be late if she delayed any further.

"Damn!" She growled in frustration as she twirled the staff, opening the gates of time long enough for her to slip through. The senshi would need reassurance as they neared the fruition of their plans.

Mercury was careening through the void, the shifting chaotic motion of what she guessed to be the housing area for the gates of time, somehow she'd find her way back, somehow she'd warn them. Somehow . . .

**In Darkness In Fire**

By: Xzero

Disclaimer: I own nothing

**Chapter 9 - The Red Fang**

_Somewhere_

Darkness and shifting color, nothing else fit into this dismal place. She had been going for hours, days, weeks, she could never be certain. Time was meaningless here, and until she found a way out, there would be no hope. The mercury computer answered her call, but according to it, the terrain around her did not exist.

"Null space. No temporal activity, except for that anomaly, which I can only assume to be the gate." She muttered to herself, hoping that actually hearing the problem would help her to solve it. The lack of distinguishing marks in the strange realm she was in had started to wear on her sanity. Sensory depravation was the only thing alike to this. There was no sound, her feet made no sound as she walked or ran. It was devoid of smell, yet oddly there was air. Everything blended together seamlessly, darkness and color shifting chaotically and endlessly. It was enough to make her ill, but still she fought it.

"Temporal activity, it's strained, but . . . " She snapped her fingers and her face lit up, exultant. "A minor sailor teleport might work." She knew it was risky. Her power was nowhere near enough to complete a long distance transit on her own. Only Saturn had that kind of power. Pluto could teleport as well, but the blue-haired senshi suspected that she was reliant on receding to the gate and then returning to a different point in time, making her staff a required part of her rapid movement.

"Or not." She recalled suddenly a time when she had seen Setsuna not wielding the staff, it had only been for a few minutes, and she had looked slightly mussed, as if it had taken a lot of energy to make that journey.

"That's it!" She realized it then, Setsuna used the staff as a focus for her power, allowing her to harness greater energy, just as all the outers, as well as Usagi used talismans to focus their power, the focusing ability of the item varied, as with all things. Perhaps she'd be able to do it after all. She was in Super Sailor form, if she used all her energy she would be able to make the jump, she hoped.

* * *

_Akane_

Her room was quiet. It was always quiet, she suddenly realized. She lay there on her bed, knees tucked against her chest with arms pulling them as close as she could. "Why?" She managed through her sobs. She had managed to keep everything from reaching her for a while, or at least, she had kept it inside, wanting to break down. It would've been so easy to give in. Her heart had ached, and her tears had leapt at the chance to spill, every moment Ranma wasn't looking at her was a moment that she had almost done so. But she realized it when she saw the look of broken hearted suffering on the young redhead's face, she, Ranma, was in pain beyond her own reckoning, and the grief that she had and did still feel was beyond measure. It wouldn't be right to break down when her own son had not.

"Baka." She whispered to the night, knowing in her heart that there was nothing she could do. Rage. It hurt her so very badly, being unable to help him. She wanted just once to be the one to help him, he had done so much for her, Saffron, Kirin, Toma, every time she stumbled and fell, he would be there for her, ready and willing to take the burden. She guessed that was what frustrated her the most about the pigtailed martial artist. He was so very incredible. It made her feel insignificant.

"_No, that isn't it_." She corrected herself internally, knowing what it was that sparked her ire toward the young man at first, something she was ashamed to admit. He was better than she was, and for a long time she was too blinded by her anger, genuinely jaded by rage to see the devotion that he showed to his art. That was why he was better, she too had been training in the art since the tender age of five, but never had her father pushed her into it. Ranma had known little of the world but the art. Sure he had been in school at times, and had proven by his passing marks at Furinkan that he had a level of intelligence that disagreed with his carefree and downright dopey demeanor. She had burned with rage at his disregard of her hard won skills.

But none of those rage-filled thoughts mattered, watching him suffer, something he had endlessly fought to keep her from. She was so very grateful to him, and now, when they were both free of the engagements, she could do nothing to help him, his soul weighted to the point of drowning in his own despair. But nothing fazed him now, he was at the least cold. She dreaded what might happen if he were to lose his humanity to this quest for vengeance.

"Oh Ranma."

* * *

_Nabiki_

The gentle click of an abacus was the only sound in the air. In a room that one might accredit to a Spartan a single woman lay on her bed, attempting to continue her calculations. Things were not going well, as the growl of frustration that escaped the brunette's throat might indicate. She tried in vain to focus her mind on the numbers and equations that would normally occupy her mind.

"Carry the two . . . argh dammit Ranma." It seems Nabiki too was worried. She grumbled mildly as she set her abacus aside, stretching herself across her bed with a frustrated sigh. Her analytical mind was racing, she had been a closet fan of the senshi for quite some time, and their betrayal was a blow that had been hard to get over. Especially when it was a member of her own extended family, who had been struck by their actions. All these things boiled under the surface, despair barely suppressed by the wall of ice she had constructed over her emotions long ago. Ranma, she realized had been hardest struck, Akane too, everyone was suffering from things. But she could only hope that whatever training Ranma had been doing, had made him strong enough to take the senshi, because as he was, she didn't think he could do it.

"What am I saying, of course he can, this is Ranma, he can do anything?" She said to herself, though the conviction was not strong in her statement. Her tears were held close in check and refused to spill for a long time, but as the daylight began to wane and falter, she could hold her tears no longer.

In the future, no one would notice nor care, but at that moment, she knew it. At seven forty-five that evening, Tendo "Ice Queen" Nabiki, died. In her place was the little girl that missed her mother, who needed to be strong but couldn't do it all on her own. It was then that her tears came in fountainous excess, the dam that held them finally gone.

* * *

_Kasumi_

A homemaker has many duties, and among them is seeing to the comfort and health of their charges. Kasumi sat in her room that night, unable to watch her dearest friend leave.

"Good luck Ranma-kun." She whispered beyond the tears that spilled down her cheeks, collecting in a salty pool on her knees. Occasionally a soft sniffle interrupted the wracking sobs. The dark night had come, in more ways than she could know. But in her heart she could feel the imbalance present in her home. She was disheartened by the feeling particularly in the dojo. It was so angry, but at the same time she could feel the pain and grief that emanated from the dojo. That had hurt her more than she could say, she had gone down there one night a few days ago, had gone to find Ranma weakened on the floor of the dojo. Tired no doubt after some incredible technique. It was unsurprising though that when she awakened him he had pushed his fatigue to the side and taken care of her needs, when she had been meaning to do the very opposite. She was supposed to take care of her family, all of her family, but in her impotence she was left with a despair that became palpable to her family, further discouraging the return to normal.

* * *

_Soun and Genma_

Sake was a marvelous drink, the two men thought, it could be taken cold or hot or even at room temperature and still have the profound effects that they sought. Each man could sit for hours grieving for his wife, but it was only when the sake stopped that they truly felt their pain. It was this feeling of hollow acceptance that led them to drink as much as they were now. Each night a borderline case of alcohol poisoning.

"Tendo . . . " The rest of his statement was lost to a drink induced stupor, unable was he to form words. Not that it stopped his long time friend and training partner from responding to the unspoken words.

"Sure, Shaotomee, he'll be fine." The dark-haired man seemed to have accurately reached the conclusion that he'd seen, as Genma immediately broke into a fit of tears, his drunken sobs causing the cup in his hands to slosh and spill on the hardwood floor. It was moments later when he let out a single anguished moan, before becoming completely solemn for the barest of moments.

"The boy will avenge No-chan, but what will become of him. I don't think Nodoka would understand if he lost his soul to revenge." With those words his moment of clarity ended, his mind once again enveloped by the alcohol. His face curled into a saddened pout as he noticed his empty cup. The spilled beverage pooled beside him, and in his lap, driving him into empty tears.

Soun looked on at his friend, seeing a man shifting between the large panda and the portly man in white. It was odd how similar the two were, as if it were a reflection of his soul. The panda was a lethargic creature, seemingly stupid, until provoked. It was at that moment when the animal felt threatened that it could bring the awkward seeming mass to bare. His mouth seemed to speak these thoughts unbidden, and Genma's tears ended as abruptly as they had begun, a contemplative look graced his features momentarily, before once again integrity was stolen from him by his truest vice.

They drank long into the night before unconsciousness claimed them, a veritable mountain of bottles of sake forming a fortress of amber glass around them.

* * *

_Minato Ward_

"It is agreed then." Setsuna's voice came from within the shrine proper. "If any of you see the Dark Knight, they are to follow and call for backup, and under no circumstances are you to engage him on your own." She explained sternly, sending her cold glance directly at the sky senshi.

Haruka for her part seemed entirely unfazed by the arctic gaze. She turned her own gaze upon the eldest senshi.

"I don't see what the point is, from what I saw he's no match for us, after all, his mother couldn't stand against us, and she was the stronger of the two." Her logic was sound, but Setsuna was prepared for such a statement, knowing full and well that the sandy blonde was both prideful and obstinate.

"He is resourceful, and has more than likely done something that none of you has done in the last month, train himself to the best of his abilities." She explained in her usual demeaning monotone. "If there is nothing else, I have business to attend to." With that she was gone, off to only she knew where. They could all guess that she was going to her post at the gates of time, hoping to observe the actions of the knight, despite her admitted inability to see anything that regarded him personally. It was assumed that she spent her time waiting for him to encounter one of them, that she'd be able to join the fray the swiftest.

* * *

_Minato Ward - Ruined Saotome Estate_

The dark of night and the ruins of the dojo house remained untouched, Genma having yet to decide the course of action to take with the property.

"Just as well." Ranma thought to himself as he started through the rubble. He had come here for one reason, and this was it he knew as he felt the surge of energy reacting to his own.

"Red Fang." He vocalized in scant above a whisper. This was his mother's blade, and before his eyes the blade indeed did take the red sheen that was suggested in the scrolls. He supposed that it was true than, that the Red Fang would only take true form in the presence of an ascended Knight. He bent then to take up the blade, feeling the ancient power course through his body before returning to the blade. It seemed to thrum with unspent energy in his hand. A few quick swipes through the air with it and the visible red streaks left behind for mere moments before he continued was incredible. A wicked smile crossed his features, and in his single-minded pursuit of the blade he had not noticed the crimson and ebon aura that had enveloped him as he spoke. His clothes and hair were lifted and had begun to fly in the ki wind that he had caused. Eyes closed he exalted in his own power. The aura disappeared then, and his eyes snapped open as he slid the katana easily into its sheath.

"It begins."

To Be Continued...

A/N: Hear marks the beginning of the final section of IDIF. I truly do apologize for the delay, I have recently moved to Portola and have been unable to use the computer very much. I hope to set up my computer at some point, or if not, adjust my profile on this one enough to suit. Anyhow, please leave in-depth reviews, good or bad. I am enjoying this story immensely and am encouraged and gain a greater enthusiasm for writing it when I know that people enjoy reading. Well, as you may guess, the senshi will be hunting Ranma just as surely as he is hunting them. Only chaos can ensue when the two forces meet. See ya.


	11. Shattered Skies

The dark of night and the ruins of the dojo house remained untouched, Genma having yet to decide the course of action to take with the property.

"Just as well." Ranma thought to himself as he started through the rubble. He had come here for one reason, and this was it he knew as he felt the surge of energy reacting to his own.

"Red Fang." He vocalized in scant above a whisper. This was his mother's blade, and before his eyes the blade indeed did take the red sheen that was suggested in the scrolls. He supposed that it was true than, that the Red Fang would only take true form in the presence of an ascended Knight. He bent then to take up the blade, feeling the ancient power course through his body before returning to the blade. It seemed to thrum with unspent energy in his hand. A few quick swipes through the air with it and the visible red streaks left behind for mere moments before he continued was incredible. A wicked smile crossed his features, and in his single-minded pursuit of the blade he had not noticed the crimson and ebon aura that had enveloped him as he spoke. His clothes and hair were lifted and had begun to fly in the ki wind that he had caused. Eyes closed he exalted in his own power. The aura disappeared then, and his eyes snapped open as he slid the katana easily into its sheath.

"It begins."

**In Darkness In Fire**

By: XZero

Disclaimer: I own nothing

A/N: See end notes for individual review responses

**Chapter 10 - Shattered Skies**

She had to hurry, her friends were most certainly well on their path to avenging her, and destroying the one they felt responsible for her death. It had taken her forever to reach the gate, and several passive scans of the immediate area for the senshi of time. Several times she had needed to slow her approach, and minimalize her own energy signature in order to avoid Setsuna's relentless search. The mercury computer could not tell her how long had passed, it's own reference for time being constantly distorted for the lack of temporal consistency. Time seemed to skip and jump in this null existence. Days it seemed would pass and at times minutes crawled and dragged on forever, all in the relative reckoning of a minute. She was certain that it was the effect of the gates of time, it had to be.

"Finally." She sighed upon reaching the time gate, which at the moment was open slightly. This was it, now or never, she gathered everything she had, bringing herself to the highest level of power she could before going through with it.

"Sailor Teleport." She cried to the void in which she stood. Her planet's sigil lit upon her forehead and she screamed with the incredible weight that the collected magical energy was released in the familiar pattern. Another scream that pierced the void was released from her throat before she simply disappeared.

* * *

_Minato Ward_

Ranma was hungry, he had spent several days searching desperately for any indication of the senshi's normal activity, only to come up with nothing. He had gotten some help from the inhabitants of the area, but others, staunch supporters of the senshi treated him as a blight. They seemed to believe that the senshi had been impersonated as they had once before, that this was perhaps another scheme by whatever forces the pretty soldiers defended them from that had perpetrated the act. At one point, he was told that he should feel ashamed of his slanderous accusations. To say he was shocked by the various responses he got was a gross understatement.

He was headed now to an arcade/restaurant for some food, it had been two days since he had last eaten. The somewhat familiar symbol caused his stomach to growl angrily, urging him forward faster. In his haste he narrowly avoided someone, a blonde man at first glance. He continued with a quick. "Excuse me." Before he continued on again.

Seating was relaxed, so he sat and waited for the waitress to notice him, something he was sure wouldn't take long. Waitresses, female attendants had always been quick to give service. He knew why now, but it was still a cause for concern, women were the last thing on his mind, and besides, he had only a few women left in his life worth a damn. Kasumi, Nabiki, Akane, Ukyo, hell, even Shampoo, he thought to himself. They were his family, and no other woman could fill the gap that would be left without them. Despite their imperfections they had each been there for him, helped him, regardless of the cost to themselves.

* * *

_Outside the Crown Arcade_

Haruka was late, a meeting was going to start in a half hour, and she hadn't even had time get home yet. To make matters worse some asshole had just bumped into her, making her spill her food. That was when she got the shock of her life. The flash of raven hair that she had seen, that was. . .

Quickly she tucked herself around the corner into an alley next to the arcade, her body trembled and a feral grin broke out over her features. This was it, she had been wanting to stick it to Setsuna ever since that fight with that woman. That damned woman; she had been a better swordswoman, something the prideful senshi of sky could not abide. She would prove herself with this one, if only to herself. She'd just have to wait awhile.

* * *

_Inside_

"Ah, good food." That depressed him for a moment; he was missing Kasumi's food already. He was standing to leave when he noticed a waitress heading toward him, looking down he saw the paid bill and receipt on the table, so she must have other intentions.

"Time to get out of here." He whispered to himself and hastily exited the arcade. Not a minute down the road and his danger senses began blaring in his mind like sirens. Instinctively he took to the air, a powerful leap that saw him thirty feet in the air by the time the explosion beneath him began to subside. The dust was thick, but as he reached the forty-five foot peak of his jump he saw what lurked inside.

"Sailor Uranus." He muttered darkly to himself. He had begun to descend and would soon land. Deciding to not give his adversary a moment's breath he gathered his energy.

"Mouko Takabisha!" His scream penetrated the day just as the golden energy rocketed from his palms. The senshi looked on at the incoming attack in curiosity for a moment before strafing to the side. She rolled to the side quickly, just as the energy contacted the ground beside her.

A grunt of pain issued from Uranus as some sharp rock fragments tore past her, scratching her side. Just as she pushed herself to her feet did she notice the incoming enemy. Right into the path of her attack, she noted as he rapidly crossed the distance toward them. Sixty feet remained between them when finally the sky senshi struck the Earth with a fist.

"World Shaking!" She bellowed, watching in satisfaction as the energy was shunted into the ground and went ripping through the asphalt toward her charging foe. Now was the time; She was charging him down, Space Sword in hand before she could register her own call for the talisman.

Ranma flew backward, having been caught in the mid-section with the blast. He could feel the bruises forming from the attack. It had been at least as strong as the Shi Shi Hokodan at full strength. Not quite enough to qualify in the true form of the attack, but close. It kept pushing him, taking him toward the wall. Summoning his strength he pushed himself off of the orange orb of power. Despite the short distance he'd been thrown still he skid some distance before coming to his feet.

"Damn." He muttered to himself, trying to wipe the dirt from his eyes. The first thing his unclouded eyes caught sight of was the familiar form of the tomboy senshi dashing toward him. The same sword she'd wielded against Red Fang glinting in the daylight. His eyes turned cold at that instant, and before he himself knew his actions the crimson blade seemed to spring into his hand. He was charging to meet her when he felt it, the same strange well of energy that he'd felt when holding his mother's body. These vigilante women had stolen his mother from him, how long would it be before others like her were deemed monsters, before they began hurting other people, or. . .

"No." He ground through grit teeth, his right arm bulging from the strain of staving off Uranus' magically enhanced strength. The contest of strength ended when a spike of ki shot through his arm and he pushed her blade back, sending his left in a series of quick jabs.

"Ugh." Uranus felt her body rock and reel from the repeated blows. "_Dammit, this guy hits like a semi."_ She concluded even as his last punch, a heavy straight struck her in the chest. Her form went careening backward, and further digging through the wall of a building. She struggled to her feet. Hoping desperately to call for backup before he could re-engage. She knew her mistake now, he truly was too powerful for one of them at once. But if she was to die, she would do so exactly how she had lived, fighting.

"Space Sword Buster!" She cried after hitting the panic button on her communicator. The blade attack shot toward her foe, only to meet his own blade. The contest of energies was titanic, and she gasped watching it for a moment. She only had one chance now, to go on the offensive and hold nothing back until the others arrived.

A cry of primal rage erupted from the senshi of sky's throat as she charged from the building. Swiftly she closed on Ranma, who had just managed to deflect the attack she had sent for him before. Dodge, parry, block, parry, parry, parry, block. They began moving in a lethal dance, with Uranus leading the direction. Her intensity was saving her, she could feel it. It was than that an attack slipped through. _"Funny_." she thought, how very fitting it seemed that they would match each other in a hit trade. His fist collided roughly with her stomach in that instant. And he leaned in to whisper in her ear.

"Shadow Lance." She heard his words and then the searing pain arose in her gut. Her eyes widened as she felt the blade of energy punch through her torso, taking vital parts with it in a spray of gore so totally different from the demons she had slain. This pain was so very different from any she was used to. She was going to die right here, she realized sorrowfully.

Her resolve firmed for a moment as she thought of Michiru trying to avenge her, she couldn't. No, she wouldn't.

"Spacial Disruption!" She spat through the blood that had leapt into her throat. Point blank, she felt should hurt him enough to be finished. Indeed, he was blown across the street, meeting headfirst the plate glass that separated a local florist from the day outside. Through the glass, and shelves of flowers, and finally into the alley behind the building. All this and the pigtailed Knight struggled desperately to his feet. He knew that the senshi of the sky was dead, no matter how long she tried to hold it off, her ki signature was fading quickly.

"Shit." He coughed up blood just after that singular curse, his vision blurring and his focus waning momentarily. He could feel them, their power was heading in this direction. He was in no condition to fight. He looked down at his right hand to note that the crimson blade was still clutched tightly in a white-knuckled fist. He slipped the Red Fang into its scabbard, fleeing as swiftly as his injured body could manage.

* * *

_Tendo Dojo_

The news that evening brought a grim message for the inhabitants.

"As you can see here, a fierce battle was fought today, and in its conclusion, Sailor Uranus was struck down. Her killer is assumed to be the son of one Saotome Nodoka, the recent victim of the senshi's horrible betrayal. Collateral damage, as always with the one-time heroines is large, however, some may sleep safe knowing there will be one less of these vigilante gone villainesses in town. I'm Kaneda Ichiro with Channel 7 news, good night."

None knew what to say, and none could understand what this meant, except the residents of a single home in the Nerima Ward. Here they saw what marked the true beginning of the end. The end of what, none were certain, but all recognized that an end was forthcoming. It could only be hoped that it would not be the end of Ranma.

* * *

_Somewhere near Sapporo_

"What do you think she's doing out here?" Came an unfamiliar voice, it was a rich baritone sound, masculine.

"I don't know, but she seems pretty beat up." Another unfamiliar voice, a woman. The world was too much a blur for her to do anything.

"Let's take her to the house, we can see what we can do there." The man suggested, she could feel herself being lifted. The darkness was heavy, and seemed to impose on her vision more and more. Just before losing herself to it, a single thought brought a smile to her lips. _I made it._

To Be Continued. . .

A/N: What can I say, up here I have a lot of writing time. Though that may change in a few chapters, depending on my job status. As the Tendos have seen, this does mark the beginning of an end, though I must admit that I have not decided what kind of end for certain, though to sate any curiosity, Setsuna **WILL** be receiving her comeuppance regardless of the overall outcome. Now to address a few reviews that I have received in the scant day since my last update.

**Akram Hellfire Gibril** - No, the only support that Ranma is receiving is that the government is sanctioning his revenge. Nodoka's family was powerful, old, and well monied.

**Glazedlookineyes101** - I would like to say that I for the most part agree with you regarding the reasons for the persecution of the Dark Knight civilians, as well as the few warriors who fled to the Sol system. However, I would like to note that there have been a few examples of this same thing in our own human history, a really poor excuse for treating other humans abhorrently. World War II, in the US was a state that would lock away every person of Japanese descent they could get wind of. Another good example of a similar situation is Hitler's treatment of the Jews. Granted this was a great deal less brutal, but then I don't have the stomach to write such horrific scenes. Another point of response. No, the government has seen how futile it is to attack the creatures the senshi face, and could not justify sending officers to arrest women who could utterly destroy them. They are strictly not interfering in hopes of letting the issue resolve itself, PR is spinning it as letting the family deal with the senshi.

**Sippio** - That would be telling.

**The White Monk** - You have no idea.

Thanks again everyone who reviewed. I do hope you enjoyed this chapter.


	12. Collecting the Crew

"What do you think she's doing out here?" Came an unfamiliar voice. It was a rich baritone sound, masculine.

"I don't know, but she seems pretty beat up." Another unfamiliar voice, a woman this time. The world was too much a blur for her to do anything.

"Let's take her to the house. We can see what we can do there." The man suggested, she could feel herself being lifted. The darkness was heavy, and seemed to impose on her vision more and more. Just before losing herself to it, a single thought brought a smile to her lips. _I made it._

**In Darkness In Fire**

By: XZero

Disclaimer: I own nothing

A/N: See bottom for thanks.

**Chapter 11 - Collecting the Crew**

_Minato Ward - Hino Shrine_

The meeting was not going well. Several of the girls were crying liberally. They had arrived only a few moments after the fight, only to find their comrade dying, she had whispered a few words to Neptune, but the life had left her in seconds after that final message. Since then there had been no expression on the aqua trussed senshi other than grim determination. They all felt this loss, but no so much as she. The others had lost a friend and teammate. Michiru had lost a lover and partner.

Usagi's tears stopped suddenly, an expression shooting over her features that shocked the tears away from her subordinates.

"He must be dealt with." A regal tone, so unlike the whiny blonde that they were all used to. It seemed that she had slipped into the royal persona that they had seen and had saved them all countless times. The steel in her eyes was ill-fitting, they all thought, but her same determination spread from there.

"Usagi is right, he has slain both Uranus and Mercury. Forgiveness is not an option, he is vengeful, and will not stop until we are all dead." Setsuna, again her voice was smooth, though a sliver of grief had entered her tone, enough that all her comrades were convinced of her sincerity. Almost.

"I must stress that with Uranus' defeat we have lost a teammate, as well as the wielder of the Space Sword. Neptune, you must not try to avenge her on your own, all that will result is that you will be killed more gruesomely than Haruka, you don't have the martial arts training that she does." The hunter haired senshi kept her voice level, but it was not enough.

"You this is all your fault, you always have to chase Crystal Tokyo, what about us? Do our lives matter?" Neptune's anguished accusations rang through the shrine. Her cries drowned any further words she may have spoken, the wracking sobs spilling down over her cheeks in a deluge. Bloodshot eyes and red skin glared at the older woman, accusations both verbal and mental exploded at the woman as her tears dried for but a moment.

Shock struck each of the women, how could Michiru think that of Setsuna, sure, she was goal oriented, but it was for the best wasn't it? She wanted, just as they all did for a world free of strife. Where everyone was equal, where everyone was happy. Hotaru saw it though, Setsuna had always been willing to sacrifice one of them if it would mean certain victory, each of them had died at one point or another, sacrificed for Crystal Tokyo. She missed her parent, but she couldn't let the pain of betrayal by the two go. Combining that with her visions of the past, she couldn't let it go, something was wrong. Tears came again to her, both tears of grief, and of helplessness. She couldn't go against them, but neither could she join with the one who'd killed Haruka.

"There is nothing else we can do until we can find him. Stay away from patrolling the city, he'll be watching for that." Setsuna stood, and from nowhere drew her Time Key. A wave of the talisman and the hunter trussed woman had gone. They would all imagine that she went to the gates of time. They would be right.

* * *

_Nerima Ward_

It was this that she hated the most, the entire situation was awful, but this was worse than defeat right now. The Nekohanten was a beacon in the darkness, "Closed" hung on the door, but that didn't stop her, neither for that matter did the late hour. Her knocks echoed through the dining area of the restaurant. A single light went on upstairs, and the sharp clack of resinated wood on wood told her whom to expect to answer. Her aura was like a bonfire hidden in the form of embers. He knew who it was. The door opened and the soaking redhead stared into the ancient eyes that held more than a little wisdom.

"Elder Cologne?" Her voice cracked using the honorific. She hated to ask for help, especially from the old ghoul, no, the elder. But she realized that en masse, she could never hope to defeat the senshi alone. Uranus had taken more from her than she'd expected, her attacks were varied, and, although supremely lacking in skill, was more than fast and strong enough to make up the difference. A dainty hand rubbed tenderly over bruised ribs, a reminder of the one place her guard had been open.

"Come child, we have much to discuss." The shrunken woman waved an arm toward the inside, using that momentum to swing herself around and began to pogo into the dining area.

"Well then Ranma, what brings you here? We've given you ample time to grieve, I can't truly hope you've come to marry Shampoo now can I?" She chuckled lightly in her croaking tone as the redheaded girl went goggle eyed.

"Oh calm yourself, I know what brings you, I was merely teasing." The small girl relaxed visibly, not in any condition to fight herself free of this place if she was betrayed.

"I... I need your help." She exhaled heavily, knowing that she must do this wasn't making it any easier.

"The senshi are too strong, I can't face them all at once. I had some trouble with one of them, but she's... dead." She finished her statement and Cologne almost couldn't conceal her surprise. She was proud of him, his conviction in his pursuit of vengeance was strong. He was already more than strong enough, but he needed desperately to add to his repertoire. His skills were great, but his knowledge of techniques was supremely limited. She had heard of that fight, and the new technique he had displayed to end his fight with Sailor Uranus was powerful, but fighting against several overwhelming opponents is different from the titanic and single combats he was used to. She could help him, but what could she request of him.

"I will help you son. I will help you. But in return you must do one thing for me, you must swear that at any time we call upon you, you must answer the call of the amazons. You will be an outsider in all but name." She knew what it seemed like, and she could see the ounce of suspicion in his eyes, but it faded, and the storm shrouded eyes set into determination.

"All right." She began to speak but was swiftly cut off.

"Ranma, I must ask one last thing. No matter what, you must return to us all alive. You cannot die." She said, with a gentle look in her eyes, like a grandmother gazing at her headstrong grandson. Just like she saw it.

"I understand Elder." The redhead nodded calmly, eyes shining with glee. She could not resist the urge that came upon her suddenly, without warning Cologne found herself enveloped in a hug, her staff hitting the ground with a number of rattling clacks.

"Thank you." The girl whispered in her ear, tears welling into the already stormy blue eyes. Cologne could only hang there, suspended in the embrace she was folded in. It was pleasant, but a deep yawn reminded both women that it was well past time for both of them to be asleep.

"You may stay in the spare room. Mousse has been gone for a couple of weeks and won't need it anyway. He has been gone with the current events. You are somewhat the legend among the Joketsuzoku. Saffron was an opponent all feared, you are the first to defeat him." She explained, failing in her efforts to stave off another yawn.

"Get some sleep, we will begin tomorrow." She said, disappearing up the stairs.

"I can do this, I just need some help." She'd call on some of his erstwhile friends tomorrow as well. He needed the strength of the wrecking crew, no matter what the price, the senshi would pay.

* * *

_The Next Day - Tendo Dojo_

Ryouga had finally returned to the dojo, and was glad for it. He had finally returned home after so much time. Unfortunately the world seemed set against him, it would only be minutes before he was taken to the Nekohanten, something about Cologne and training.

* * *

_Kumon Residence - Kyoto_

"Okay, okay, I understand, I'll be there." Ryuu was pissed, she hadn't been the greatest, but when Nodoka was under the impression that he was her son, she had been so kind to him. Ranma and he had not parted on the best of terms, but he had practically begged him for his help.

"I'll be leaving for awhile." He spoke to the air as he gathered his things. He was a decent ways down the road when a woman's voice came from within his dojo house.

"Ryuu!"

* * *

_Near Sapporo_

"Do you think she'll be okay?" The woman from before asked, concerned for the blue haired girl lying in torn pants and a shredded shirt.

"She's just sleeping, she'll be just fine." A groan turned their attention toward the cot on which the blue haired senshi lie.

"There's your answer, she's waking up."

To Be Continued...

A/N: A good author knows when his critics are correct, and as such, this chapter is another bit of filler, thenext chapter willskip forward past the readying, because I feel you've all been patient in waiting for the action.I do apologize that this chapter is so short by the way.


	13. In Darkness In Fire pt 1

"Do you think she'll be okay?" The woman from before asked, concerned for the blue haired girl lying in torn pants and a shredded shirt.

"She's just sleeping. She'll be just fine." A groan turned their attention toward the cot on which the blue haired senshi lie.

"There's your answer. She's waking up."

**In Darkness In Fire**

By: XZero

Disclaimer: I own nothing

**Chapter 12 - In Darkness In Fire pt 1**

Time passed slowly, a dark tide seeming to rise in response to his angered challenge. It was a particularly fevered combat that had them here. Each of the Nerima Wrecking Crew was outfitted for full-scale war. It seemed that they were getting no where fast though. The moon hung heavy in the sky, and the gentle glow of streetlights was drowned by the menacing glow of numerous auras raised to full potential. Each of the fighters came at him at once, attacking viciously with every skill they could muster, dozens of tiger print bandanas filled the air, along with a seemingly endless volley of knives. Almost imperceptible distortions of the air zipped into the sky and still there was no resolution . . . Energy orbs rocketed into the sky as each released a ki blast. There was one constant amongst them all however, and that was the purity of their auras, each still held a familiar color. For Ryouga a deep hunter, Mousse a dull orange, Ryuu's was a vibrant red. To each this was a representation of their core self, Ryouga was a man recovering from emotional scars, Mousse's desire to be accepted was a need that reached his very center, while Ryuu had a great deal of fear, covered by a violent and self-serving nature. All these things were gained from his mother's teachings. Thoughts turned dark, and Ranma knew what his aura held of late. Nothing but black and red hung around him when he called up his spirit. The colors died down, they were all tired from the tireless practice, and nightly scouring of the Minato Ward. Unfortunately the reminder of his aura was still there. He was angry, he hated the senshi more than he could express, but Cologne had set his greatest fear at ease. He could remember the conversation clearly.

* * *

_Flashback_

"Elder, I am worried. Lately, my aura has been dark and unhealthy . . . I, I don't want to lose myself, but it's hard to not give in." He admitted this to the shrunken woman freely.

"You needn't worry, child. This is not truly who you are, merely how you are now. When your pain subsides, and when justice is dealt, then will you see your spirit cleansed, but you must keep faith. Under no circumstances are you to give in to your rage, though you may want to." Her simple wisdom lifted his spirit, but the heavy burden before him, and the roiling emotions under the surface still ached to be directed.

"Thank you Elder." He bowed to her deeply and returned to his room. He really did need some sleep.

_End Flashback_

* * *

That night stuck out in his mind, even as he sat atop one of the many tall buildings in the Minato Ward. It was dark now, but it hadn't been hours before, when he and the rest of the Wrecking Crew had been searching the city for the magical girls. He was certain that he'd find them sooner or later, but it was a difficult progression, knowing that they must, at times, be civilian girls. None of them looked much older than highschool age. He listened to the police scanner that Nabiki had gotten him, she knew that it would be of some use. The police frequently reported the youma attacks, and Ranma could only suppose it would be useful, hence her purchase of it. The small walkie-talkies though, they were truly wonderful, they were advertised to be perfectly clear transmission for up to nine miles. That was more than enough range for their required purpose. It was all he could do but to gather the older girl in his arms when she had presented the two devices to him, and the walkie talkies to the rest of the Crew. 

"Nothing's happening tonight." He whispered and turned back for the night, tired. He wanted an early start tomorrow, and everyone else had already returned to the dojo to sleep.

* * *

_Near Sapporo_

"Oh, my head." She groaned as she struggled into a sitting position. '_Wait, I'm in a bed, where am I?'_ Her eyes shot open and immediately thereafter she regretted the action, light sending a surge of burning pain into her head.

"Ah." She hissed, squinting her eyes against the harsh sunlight that beat into them. She could make out two figures against the light, and her brow shot up. "Ugh, where am I?" She groaned again, feeling remarkably as if she had been beaten with clubs for hours on end.

"You're at our home, near Sapporo. I'm Agasha Kyoshi, and this is my girlfriend, Sakagami Sakura." The man introduced, and for the first time she could see them clearly, he was extremely handsome, with dark brown hair and a pair of exotic, piercing green eyes. She turned her head slightly and took in Sakura, who was amazing. She had long red hair and the same green eyes as her boyfriend.

"Thank you." She rasped, her throat seizing. She needed water, badly, and her eyes searched for anything that looked to contain water. Finally, she found it, a pitcher full of clear liquid. "Water." She gasped breathlessly, taking the container in both hands and tipping it back. The life-giving fluid went down her throat in heavy gulps, and finally it was empty, leaving her heaving for breath.

"What were you doing out there, looking like you'd been through the blender?" The man asked of her, she couldn't think of anything to say, so she guessed she was lucky that she fainted.

She awoke though, hours later, only to receive the same question, this time, she couldn't dodge it. She felt refreshed beyond measure, and hoped she'd make it in time. But first she must deal with the this.

"Someone I thought was a friend betrayed me, she brought me out here and beat me up, and left me to die." She really didn't want to reveal too much, but something told her not to lie to this man. "She is going to make my other friends do something horrible if I can't get back to Tokyo soon. Please, I need your help." She was practically begging them now, tears threatening to leak from her soft blue eyes. Kyoshi felt a weight in his chest, he felt sorry for this girl. Her tone, everything about her statement was sincere. He too knew betrayal. It settled in his mind, he would help her.

"It'd help if you told us your name first." He said, the weight disappearing as a smile slid onto his face. "If you hadn't guessed, that means I'll help you. You in Sakura-chan?" The redheaded woman gave him an incredulous look at his statement.

"And let you wander off into danger, what kind of woman would I be if I left you defenseless?" Her statement brought a chuckle from him, and swiftly, she herself fell into gales of laughter.

"I am Mizuno Ami, thank you so very much." It was decided, they would head for Tokyo in an hour.

* * *

_Minato Ward - Hino Shrine_

"Two weeks and nothing, maybe Uranus managed to finish him with her last attack, after all, the trademarks of a Spacial Disruption were all there." It seemed that Michiru was back on her game, though the acid present in her tone had not dissipated in the least. A drastic change had undergone in her, instead of her usual attire she seemed taken with Haruka's clothes, mostly though it was her demeanor, with the loss of her lover she had become if anything, more like that which she lost. She'd cut her hair and had been less the reserved lady that they had all become accustomed to.

"No. Crystal Tokyo is still not showing up in any possible future, were he dead the time line would have returned to its previous course." Setsuna, as always, was prepared to deal with the situation, her statement was infallible to the senshi, if he really had died there was nothing that would interfere with the future. Little Hotaru nodded grimly, as much as she disliked the situation, and was angry for her father figure's loss, she still could not settle the strange feeling in the pit of her stomach. Something was still wrong, and she had a feeling that it would not end with that.

Usagi seemed eager to contribute. "Maybe he was injured in the fight against Haruka?" She wondered aloud, bringing the other senshi's attention to herself. She looked around surprised. "What, after all, he couldn't have fought Haruka without getting hurt at all." The others nodded, acknowledging the accuracy of her words.

"He's different. He's not like all the enemies we've fought in the past. I thought I recognized him, and I was right. He's Saotome Ranma, he's the best fighter in the world." Jupiter added grimly.

Venus gasped, Rei choked on her tea, and Usagi could only look at them quizzically.

Makoto was more than willing to continue. "Before, our enemies would always be perfectly content to have contests of power. Well, Ranma is a martial artist whose skills are the stuff of legends. He can use his ki, can do everything we can, only, he does it on skill." She was scared, and that wasn't good, Setsuna thought to herself as she sipped her tea. She needed to diffuse the situation, quickly, before Jupiter's rising panic spread.

"We dealt with his teacher. As you saw, the woman wasn't enough, and neither will her student be." Setsuna explained carefully. She had no intention of telling them that what they had witnessed that day in the dojo was an ascension, something she'd only seen once, a civilian had erupted in a geyser of power. It had been amazing, and intimidating. She had of course used the Dead Scream to end his life before he could finish the ascension. It was strange, that a race so advanced, went berserk when ascended. It always seemed to be civilians though.

* * *

_Nekohanten_

The night was cold, and Ranma still could not sleep, despite his fatigue. He felt restless, and rolled over, watching the full moon hanging in the sky above. He had come to hate that moon, a reminder of his strongest enemy. Nabiki, Kami bless that girl, had researched the magic girls as much as she could. And it was obvious that the one named Sailor Moon was their leader. A few photographers had caught them on film, and the middle sister had earned for them a detail of everything she could gather. Attacks being the most forthcoming. It had been difficult, Akane had thankfully been able to convince those she talked to, members of the growing number of people who'd been saved by the senshi, that she was merely interested, something about a school report.

"Time goes crashing by, and ev'rything is killing me.

It is time, to find myself again.

Goodbye my friend.

It is time for us to part."

The words had come to him unbidden, and with them was a melancholy that was uncharacteristic even for his present state. Looking back on them, though, they expressed his pain. He doubted that he'd be able to keep his promise to Cologne, things were going to be desperate, and he wasn't sure that he would survive. He'd be damned though if the others died fighting with him. He had asked them because they were the best, and trained with them until their abilities were sharper than ever before. But he still dwarfed them, at best they would be able to hold off the weaker senshi while he was left to the titans among them. A yawn cut off further introspection, reminding him of the late hour and his desperate need for sleep.

* * *

_1.3km from Nerima Ward (The day after Ranma's revery on the roof)_

"... kill the cheese log." Sakura erupted in laughter from the memory. They were both surprised that Ami had fallen asleep, though not entirely so. The older woman reached into the back of the four door sedan and gathered a blanket laying over the upholstery.

"Poor thing fell asleep. Hurry up Kyo-kun, I have a bad feeling about this." She said to her companion as she lay the blanket over the sleeping bluette.

The night was swiftly approaching when they reached the address she'd given them. Even now they marveled over the incredible device that computer she'd seemingly brought from nowhere was. She'd been typing on the thing furiously for hours, until finally she lifted her eyes from the screen.

'That's it.' She'd told them, 'I've found him. If I can get him to listen, he can help, I know it.' They'd of course asked after the "him" to which she referred.

'His name is Ranma Saotome. The Sailor Senshi from Minato Ward in Tokyo killed his mother, after their eldest member told them she was going to destroy something they had been working hard toward. She said that she was like the multitudes of other enemies they'd faced. Ruthless and willing to steal the life from others to gain her power.' It had surprised them, but slowly they began to realize what her knowledge told of. Combined with the symbol of Mercury on the back of the computer narrowed things immensely. When confronted about it some hour and a half later, she had indeed admitted to her dual identity. It was then that they learned everything, the hidden file, the betrayal of Pluto, everything.

'We'll get you there as fast as we can, Ami, I promise.' Kyoshi said with a determined set to his eyes. Here they were, nearing the Tendo Dojo when suddenly, it caught alight. Ami seemed to come alive when she saw what was happening.

Several figures leapt from the property, heading in a new direction. Ami's analytical mind began to slip into gear, tactical calculations filling her mind. "Kyoshi, Sakura, would you please help whoever is at that house, they are going to need help. I have to follow the senshi, they are bound to be heading for Ranma." She said, reaching into midair for something as she spoke.

"Sure, Ami but..." Words seem to leave them both as she lifted the pen shaped item skyward, emitting a familiar phrase.

"Mercury Crystal Power, Make Up!" Her exclamation ended, and the transformation that followed, began. Light erupted within the vehicle, and Sakura could make out brief flashes of her new acquaintance's nude figure. What she saw was enough to flush her cheeks, and what followed, amazed. Ribbons of mist seemed to coalesce around her and bind her. But as the light surrounding the mist shattered, what remained was a white body suit, blue skirt and kerchief. Two ice blue ribbons tied at bust and butt, drawing a bit of attention to them. Sakura had heard of the fabled Sailor Senshi, but never imagined that she'd meet one, let alone know her real name.

The bluette leapt from the car, reversing her direction almost instantaneously, and with a grace that defied normality. Sakura shook the awe from her mind, now was no time to gape at what she'd seen, there was a fire and she needed to help however she could.

To Be Continued...

A/N: I'm sorry, I know I promised that this would be the chapter in which the battles began, but I couldn't help but tie up some more loose ends and get Ami on her way to the ensuing battle. The scene is set, and the beginning of the next chapter is already written and waiting for me to continue. This one was particularly easy to write after I found my inspiration for it. "Taking Over Me" by Evanescence is a good song. I don't know why, but with the beat this chapter seemed to unfold in my mind. Anyhow, my usual pleading for reviews is still there. So, PLEASE REVIEW. See ya next time.


	14. In Darkness In Fire pt 2

"Mercury Crystal Power, Make Up!" Her exclamation ended, and the transformation that followed, began. Light erupted within the vehicle, and Sakura could make out brief flashes of her new acquaintance's nude figure. What she saw was enough to flush her cheeks, and what followed, amazed. Ribbons of mist seemed to coalesce around her and bind her. But as the light surrounding the mist shattered, what remained was a white body suit, blue skirt and kerchief. Two ice blue ribbons tied at bust and butt, drawing a bit of attention to them. Sakura had heard of the fabled Sailor Senshi, but never imagined that she'd meet one, let alone know her real name.

The bluette leapt from the car, reversing her direction almost instantaneously, and with a grace that defied normality. Sakura shook the awe from her mind, now was no time to gape at what she'd seen, there was a fire and she needed to help however she could.

**In Darkness In Fire**

By: XZero

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

**Chapter 13 - In Darkness In Fire pt. 2**

"Another day of nothing but empty searching." He sighed heavily, looking out at the stars, knowing that the light of the full moon, and the city's lighting would limit his view. He'd always loved the road, because no matter where he went, the stars were with him. Every night, a sky filled with millions of little lights would carry him to sleep. The thought brought a smile to his face.

"Sure is peaceful right now." In retrospect, given his record, that wasn't something he should've said. From the rooftops all around him several auras began to register, and they were indeed the familiar ones he'd recognized. Each of them carried an elemental signature, except for three. Fire, Lightning, and Water. Those were the senshi. The oddities also matched the profile, Moon, Saturn, Pluto. They had found him?

"Shit, if they're here, than they must've found out about the others." His scanner flew into his hand, and the power switch was flipped on quickly. It was enough time that a frantic call rang in his ears. _'We've got an explosion from the Tendo Dojo_(1)_ All units are requested to respond, fire, paramedics, police. It is suspected that something supernatural is at fault, bring special armaments.'_ His heart sank, he knew that could only mean one thing. They were hurt, if not dead. What did they think this would get them? Did they think that harming the people he loved would weaken him, were they really that ruthless? Now was not the time, they had decided to show themselves.

"Dead Scream." Setsuna announced their presence with her signature attack. Ranma knew this kind of tactic, his danger senses were screaming at him to move, but his ki senses didn't feel anything. 'Wait, nothing, nothing at all.' In the space of a second he knew what was going on, and immediately leapt into the air, watching the tiles beneath him explode, revealing the attic of the Nekohanten.

"So, you've finally shown yourselves. Done terrorizing innocent people? Murdered anyone?" He ground those words, images of his mother, and of the current state of the Tendo sisters, of his father, of Soun, all these things filled his mind and increased his rage.

Most of the senshi were taken aback by his statement, but Setsuna had prepared them, had told them that he was the worst kind of enemy, convinced them that even if they hadn't eliminated the threat that his mother posed, that he would have eventually come after them. After all, that was what they had done in the Silver Millennium.

"You're one to talk, you murderous bastard. You took her away from me. You killed her." Neptune shouted at the top of her lungs, lunging at the crouched form of Saotome. He reacted just as he always did, slipping barely out of reach of his enraged enemy. He gauged her skill, trying to determine how best to deal with her, how to conserve energy, when, just as he feared, the others leapt into the fray as well. Mars was first to engage, throwing dozens of perfectly executed punches, hoping to pin him, while Jupiter came in at his flank, a fast combination of kicks and punches keeping him busy. It was the other's attacks that worried him. Moon, Pluto, and Neptune were all delivering multitudes of attacks, seemingly pouring energy out like an electrical generator.

Saturn though, just as before, wasn't throwing anything. She'd not made a single move since the combat began, seemingly content to let them fight on their own. He wondered what it was that would make one of them hesitant to attack. She was rumored to have a lot of uncontrolled power, but even so, her compatriots needed her abilities, and she just stood there. Ranma's realization then, allowed an attack to slip through his defenses. A powerful crescent kick struck him in his side, sending him stumbling back a few feet. Again Moon raised that silly looking stick of hers, smooth but superfluous motion ending in a spray of shards of silver rushing at him. The Red Fang leapt into his hand and he began deflecting the shards as best he could. He was winded, and several of the shards were penetrating his defense. He was holding his ground, but the tide of battle would overwhelm him soon without his allies. This time though, when Neptune, Jupiter, and Mars, he was prepared to switch from defense to offense. His fists shot out, seeking the open targets he found. Meaty thuds echoed in the night, as both Jupiter and Mars were sent reeling by the blows. Neptune was different, her rage had lent her an intensity, and strength that not even the brutal and crushing blows that she was dealt could deny. She regained her footing instantaneously and was again rushing in, her fist reared back, and her fist flew forward, only to find the air.

"Argh!" The aqua haired woman bellowed, her frustrations only fueling her anger. She released several volleys of vicious blows, still meeting nothing but air. She was ready to just explode in rage and frustration when she heard that horrible sound. She had remembered Hotaru likening it to the wail of a banshee, though where she had gotten that term she did not know. That was when the dark orb slid past her. Her quarry too seemed to sense the anomaly, and leapt away quickly. She didn't quite make it out of the way, and the resulting explosion from the attack caught her, several shallow cuts along her skin.

"Pluto! What were you thinking? You almost hit Neptune!" Their leader cried in astonishment. Though she didn't miss the hysteria on the older woman's face. What she saw scared her. Worse, there was nothing she could do, in any case, they had to fight, if they didn't all that had happened would be in vain. She steeled herself to deal with Pluto later, because a division now and Ranma truly would kill them.

"It needed to be done, she knows the risks involved." Pluto rationalized as she prepared another Dead Scream.

"Dead Scream." Setsuna whispered the attack, though the call that was let off as it erupted from the tip of her staff was horrifying as always. This time though, there was something different. Just as she released a jet of quicksilver slammed into her, accompanied by the familiar battle cry.

"Aqua Rhapsody." Heads turned, tracking the path of the quicksilver projectile, nearly missing the shimmering force that stopped the time distortion bare inches from both her mother figure and the man that she was fighting.

The warriors all stopped, attempting to take stock of the situation. Standing on a roof a bit of distance away is a form that they were told was dead. "Ami?" Several female voices whispered in shock. Setsuna didn't waste time though, her words were flying from her mouth before she could fully realize the situation they were in.

* * *

_Meanwhile where attention is concentrated on fighting_

Ranma was sweating, while she wasn't as strong as the others, she was still entirely too incensed. He couldn't seem to hit her hard enough to prepare himself for a finisher. It would seem a standstill, until the spiral pattern he was drawing the enraged senshi in. Cooling his aura was easy now with the greater control over his spirit. He smirked as his mind ticked down to the end.

* * *

_3_

"Dead Scream." The attack came at them, but Ranma couldn't risk moving out of his pattern, Neptune would be hit also, something that just infuriated him further. _Willing to sacrifice their own, just for a shot at me. Cowards._ The spiral was nearly complete, and he could sense the others preparing themselves, Mousse wasn't nearly as strong as the others without his weapons, but with them he was a force to be reckoned with. Ryouga was a heavy sleeper, as well as still tired from their training earlier in the day. As for Ryuu, he was waiting for a shot, his skills allowed him to send lethal force, but if he missed he could kill someone innocent in the overshoot.

A volley of daggers pierced the air as Mousse made his appearance. Jupiter and Mars' eyes widened in shock as the daggers struck them, Jupiter felt several blades pierce her skin, others glancing the skin exposed by her fuku.

* * *

_2_

Pluto was struck hard by the jet of what appeared to be water, and with that battle cry the senshi turned their heads toward the source. Usagi's eyes lit up when she saw that familiar form. "Ami?" She whispered as she watched the other senshi leap toward them. Midair she hung, suspended as Setsuna's staff swivelled skyward and the banshee's cry echoed in their ears. Things were getting too thick too quick.

"Kijin Raishuu Dan!" The vacuum blade sliced through the air, making contact with the Time Key. For the first time since his mastery of the Yamasenken techniques he watched as a single blade wasn't enough. He growled and released as many more as he could muster. A line of the blades struck each time against the Time Key, and watched as they were fought off by the talisman. His anger grew and his aura leapt skyward, he was no longer concealed in the darkness, but now, he was ready. The aura coalesced into a glow surrounding his arms of scarlet light. "Enkou no Ten!" The flame of heaven limned his arm, lashing out at everything as the fiery blade came to combat at the very same place as all the vacuum blades. Setsuna fought it , but the already beaten staff had reached its limit. With a snap and a widening of her eyes the age old artifact was reduced to halves.

* * *

_1_

Ryouga had only awakened moments ago, but he'd gathered up his strength and stood in reserve until he saw something that shocked him. One of the senshi had attacked the other. Come to think of it, she'd arrived separately. She was midair when he noticed the senshi of Pluto leveling her staff skyward, he knew any warning he might give would be too late. It was now or never. He saw Ranma's spiral and had to get her out of the air, now.

So he leapt, taking to the air with a speed that surprised even him. He wasn't going to make it, he paled at the realization, but determination shone through. He needed to find out what was going on, as much to sate his own curiosity, as it was to save his friend. Ranma had always been there for him, and there must be some reason why this member of the Sailor Senshi was defending him.

Pain blossomed in his back and he felt his shirt burned to cinders as the pain blossomed along his back. He growled and let the attack push him into the blue haired senshi, he'd get her to safety. He winced as he felt one of his ribs start to creak, straining against the force of the attack he'd intercepted.

* * *

_0..._

"Hiryu Shoten Ha!" Ranma's clumsy uppercut was dodged by Neptune. Her rage made her miss the grim smirk that spread over his features as she came at him still.

Mars was confused when the attack was called and there was no effect. She was wary of a trick, and that was when she felt it, the rapid decrease in pressure, a herald of the worst storms. The cyclone erupted into life, simultaneous with Jupiter and her own warnings. They had been too preoccupied to notice any pattern, too unused to enemies utilizing any real strategy. In reflection they could feel their own disgust at their complacency. They struggled to get down, but the suction lifted them. They fought the storm, groping the air for any purchase they might find, only to despair at the debris that tore at them. Pain wracked them as the bits of wood and wile slashed their skin, caught in the sudden cyclone.

"Burning Mandala!" Mars cried concentrating her power to release the volley of plasma rings. Her eyes widened in sheer terror, as before her eyes they were snatched into the gale winds, disappearing amongst the debris. Neptune, too, was stuck in the tornado and as her anger increased, so too did the intensity of it all. The winds seem to rage on and on as Neptune's rage filled screams and the winds kept her aloft. Her aqua tresses flew wildly about her in the funnel, and her snarling screams and curses lent a demonic air to it all. Mars and Jupiter saw this, and though their minds were nowhere near the tactical genius that the senshi of Mercury displayed, but it was easy to see the angrier Neptune got the more violent the storm raged.

"Neptune! Calm down, your only feeding the storm." But there was nothing for it, she was too far gone. Sparking to life was an aura of power surrounding the berserk senshi, and it struck the two whirling within the storm dumb. They could really move as they watched her anger continue to intensify, bits of stray shrapnel obliterated before striking her. The aura she projected was being siphoned, however, and it was visible. Her energy would shoot off into the hurricane and it would grow.

"Adauchi!" The energy had been coalescing in his palms, emitting waves of frost that caused his sweat to freeze. The sudden wave of heat from him ended the hurricane, as the cold was no longer present in his aura. Mars and Jupiter found themselves flung far from the scene, while Neptune could look down only in rage as she saw the incoming ray of pure life force.

"Ah!" She screamed, the deep submerge coming to her fingers before she flung it in response to the Dark Knight's attack. The pressure pushed her back, and the two forces fought against one another. But to her horror, the beam's power source was constant while no attack she could muster would be continuous. Her rage clouded mind scrambled desperately for an answer, when she felt her hand tense and summon the mirror. Her eyes widened and her mouth curled into a sneer.

"Submarine Reflection!" The mirror was brought to bare and the intense shine of the many lights bore down toward the encroaching retributory strike. The powers collided again, and as the ray fought against it she poured more and more power into her attacks. He did the same.

* * *

_Meanwhile..._

Setsuna gasped in horror as the time key was severed. _How?_ Rang through her mind as she tried to stand, the effects of the high pressure jet had been disorienting, and she stumbled while gaining her feet. The spots that danced through her vision were interrupted by the volley of daggers that struck Jupiter and Mars. Those two weren't going to live much longer, pinned by the enemy as they were. She needed to focus her power, the staff could no longer channel the powers of the gate and the power of the orb as well. She had no other choice, it was now time to unstop everything, the Dark Knight and his allies must be destroyed for the sanctity of Crystal Tokyo to come to pass.

She leapt over the next attack of the strange fighter who'd broken her staff.

"Dead Scream." Her attack rocketed toward the origin of the attack, and her eyes lit in celebration when the attack actually went through, though the drain that it imposed, was more than she had expected. The null orb, it was larger, and the corona that surrounded this was familiar, wild and powerful, albeit unfocused. She smiled victoriously as the Dead Scream found its target, engulfing him. When the smoke settle she could see nothing of him, he was gone completely. Her eyes were clearing of the cloud of black specks that danced through her vision, dizzying her. She gripped the upper portion of her staff and focused herself as best she could. There! She could still feel her connection to the orb, and could feel the imperfections in the focus, but nonetheless she could still use it. "Dead Scream." She whispered, and for the fourth time at the Nekohanten, the banshee's cry struck the night, announcing itself as it slipped through the air toward Mousse. The myopic martial artist widened his eyes, feeling the null energy sphere coming toward him. He couldn't avoid it, he was standing just above Shampoo's room. The purple haired champion had been forbidden from taking part in this battle, and any that Ranma was to have with the senshi. Moving would mean her death, and to Mousse, nothing was more important than her life. The weighted spike chain slammed against the time distortion, and was merely engulfed. Mousse was sweating, this might be the end of him, he didn't have Ryouga's disturbing endurance, nor did he possess Ranma's insane ki control, all he could hope to do was. . .

"Hatsugen!" He screamed, releasing the massive power surge he felt within him. He'd practiced this attack, but had nowhere near mastered it. It had been too powerful to control but he seemed to have gotten it now. This, primitive and primal need for salvation struck the Dead Scream, and stopped it cold. The forces struggled for dominance, before finally, both were spent of their energy, dissipating just as the whirlwind had seconds ago.

The Chinese master of Hidden Weapons Style knew it was over for him, his vision, already a hazy thing became clear enough for the white flecks to overcome his sight. He could vaguely feel himself falling, the fight taken from him entirely in his attempt to stave off the attack, and now, he could rest.

* * *

_Ryouga_

Ryouga crashed to the street, the insane weight of his training clothes and umbrella keeping Mercury and himself from being drawn into the hurricane. He watched in satisfaction as two of the senshi were flung from the combat area.

"What are you doing here?" He asked of the small girl pinned beneath his weight. He fought to not blush, knowing that beneath him was a girl barely clothed who strongly resembled Akane. _Oh, Akane._ He sighed, envisioning a future with the girl. _No!_ His mind shouted to him. _I mustn't allow fantasy to overcome me now._ He shook his head, clearing his thoughts.

"Pluto, going to kill us all, must stop her. Tricked us." The senshi couldn't tell what was happening, but she could see the funneling storm overhead, and feel its pull. His question had startled her, sure as his sudden presence had. She was going to continue on, trying to disable Pluto long enough to explain. She needed to get to Ranma, if she didn't stop him, they'd all die. Ryouga's expression told it all. He had only seen Ranma this focused once, and that was against Saffron. The dissipation of the storm was surprising, but not as much so as the sudden concentration and buildup of ki. He'd seen Ranma practicing these, the ray that fired into the air was scarlet, anger, rage, vengeance. These were the emotions that fueled his spirit on, but, wait, his aura still read as cold. Was he truly in control of this, was he not enraged?

"I understand, I'll help you, but right now, Ranma's not going to stop fighting until Pluto is dead. I've only seen him like this against Saffron. It's like fighting the god of war." Ryouga could admit that Ranma was better than he was, and could smile while he said it, but not right now. Ranma had beaten him, but instead of humiliating him, he'd just smiled at him as a friend and offered to help him become better. The sincerity in his eyes had convinced the fanged fighter.

"I understand, I can't let my friend become murderer's more than they are, I will help you all, I just hope that Ranma will see the difference between me and them." She said, she and Ryouga disentangling themselves from the other.

"Stay with me, I may not be able to beat him, but he'll listen to me." The man clad in the tiger striped bandana was convinced of this truth, as well he should be. _Oh no!_ He felt Mousse's strength fading. That could only mean that the myopic warrior was dying, either from energy or blood loss, in either case it was their friend that was fading into the umbra.

Together they returned to the battle, hoping desperately to turn the tide. This mustn't be allowed to play to its conclusion. They would destroy each other if this was allowed to continue to completion, this could destroy both sides, as well as everything else around them. Ami never noticed the limp in his steps, or the blood that trickled from his lips.

* * *

_Usagi_

_No, this is too much._ _This has to stop._ She was convinced, this battle was costing them too much, Neptune was hovering aloft, her mirror brandished and releasing its mystic energy toward their enemy, while he used his own energy to combat it. Setsuna, she'd gone too far, she'd attacked Neptune, and then had attacked Ami.

The powerful suction of the hurricane that leapt to life threatened to tear her from her feet, but she crouched, and remained firm in her standing. "Setsuna, stand down! Stop this." She screamed, watching the Dead Scream hurtle toward the robed man. He seemed to want to stand firm there. Why? He could dodge it, couldn't he? The others all seemed perfectly capable. _Determination_ She realized, he was determined to do something. But what? What could he achieve by standing there. Then his own attack, why did he yell out Revelation? It was confusing, their way of fighting. She couldn't see Jupiter or Mars anymore, and Venus was injured. She clutched her side, blood trickling between her fingers.

Her heart ached, they were all hurting. That guy in the bandana, he'd saved Ami, the robed man, he was unconscious now, lying prone against the rooftop, a sad smile on his lips. He was whispering something, she thought. His mouth was moving at least.

"I don't understand, why did all of this have to happen?" She whispered, tears coming to her eyes. She hated this, hated the fighting, hated it all. What kind of future was she trying to build, what is Crystal Tokyo if it costs the blood of so many to achieve? They'd fought monsters, they'd fought demons, droids, and everything else, but she didn't want to fight people, she wouldn't kill people.

"Stop it!" She screamed, and all around her looked on in shock. Pluto turned her gaze on the moon princess, and the royal didn't like it one bit. Contempt, she could see it clear across the elder woman's features. Then it changed, contempt formed into a sneer.

"Setsuna, what are you?" Her eyes widened in horror, Pluto was aiming her staff at her. She brought up her own rod weakly, but her shaking hands dropped it. _How could she?_

* * *

_Ranma_

His teeth grit, he opened his eyes wide, a primal scream issuing from his throat. In that instant he felt the power within bubble, aching for release.

_Snap!_

There, this was it, nothing, no holding back, they wanted to play the game of power, he'd show them power. His savage grin widened as he watched the woman in the air engulfed by his attack. Vengeance had been served to this one. Fighting down his rage he turned, scanning the battlefield for his weapon. There, the Red Fang stood, a bastion in the field. It's crimson blade had dulled back to the gleaming polish of steel. Though the closer he got to it, the more he could feel it. It was intoxicating, feeling the blade pulse within his aura in time with his own heartbeat. Yes, this blade truly did belong to him, to his family. For a moment, he thought sadly, _...to my mother._

There, the blade was in hand, a wounded senshi to one side, another, yes, both of them, there? The two responsible. His smile was savage. He took off like a shot, launching himself bodily toward the two senshi.

_Wait!_ His mind shouted as he noted the hostility rising in their ki, they were taking aim on one another, _Why? Is there some trouble between them?_ His instincts told him that Pluto was the aggressor. Did he care? He didn't really know. These were the women who'd killed his mother, why should their problems concern him?

Pluto first, he swore to himself, his right hand sliding back, his left discharging a streak of gold that flew to his enemy. "For my mother!" He screamed, his sword flashing forward. She'd barely deflected the ki blast, weak as it was it had been quick. Her eyes widened and she swung the lower half of her Time Key to intercept. A clash and sparks shot from the weapons as they collided. Pluto's eyes narrowed. First the threat, then she'd deal with Usagi.

A fatal ballet seemed to unfold in those moments, as sword struck the strange metal of the broken key. Time and time again his strike would be blocked or parried, though only barely. He could see the sweat forming on her brow. She wasn't meant for this, she seemed to be decently skilled, and he knew that in his anger he was getting sloppy. He exhaled loudly, and from his throat came a sudden mist. It's evanescence was quick, though his opponent could feel the sudden and dramatic decline in temperature. Her own breath formed a thick cloud that surprised her. His attacks increased in speed and precision, if lacking a bit of their previous strength now. Her blocks were becoming more and more frantic. Minor slashes in her body suit were starting to form, as his arm began to blur in the air, striking out dozens of times. She knew now that her magically enhanced strength and constitution were her only saving grace. She needed breathing space. She leapt back, receiving a gash on her side for her efforts.

She hissed in pain momentarily, and brought her face back to the cool neutrality that her compatriots were used to.

"So Dark Knight, we truly meet at last. You are strong, but foolish. Time, is on MY side." She said, and suddenly a Dead Scream was before him.

_Shit!_ His mind was flying, he had no chance to evade, merely a moment to throw his arms in front of him, and brace himself for impact.

The explosion rocked the building, and flung dust into the air. Ranma was kneeling, having taken the full force of the explosion. It rocked his senses to stand against such an attack. He stood, albeit unsteady at first.

"This is it, you've taken too much witch, too much." His body seemed to be lost, as the red and ebon aura flooded the world around him. So intense it was that Setsuna found that she could not stand within the burning darkness. Her power, too had been greatly taxed, but enraging him seemed only to fuel his power. She realized that it wouldn't be long, not long at all until he'd return from within the darkness.

"Nenshou Kyoubou!" Came from within the field of strength, and just as it had exploded outward, it would then implode, limning his body in crimson. His power was off the scale, and forward he went, the Red Fang flashing through the air, humming through the air with a terribly loud silence. Setsuna scrambled to defend herself, nothing would save her, Crystal Tokyo would fall.

The mental command she sent to her powers went out again, and for an instant she received the reprieve she sought. It was too much, and the most she could do was gain distance. Time resumed and in an instant he was again upon her, this time a fraction slower, just enough that her blocks, albeit hurried and clumsy, made it. Terror. That was all she felt when the weight of her stave's broken pieces left her. Her eyes widened as she came to a halt, looking down despairingly at the stumps there. They were bleeding, she was bleeding. She screamed as she realized the unimaginable pain that coursed through her arms. Her screams of horrifying pain resonated through the night, causing families throughout the ward to cringe involuntarily.

The Red Fang sunk into the soft flesh of her stomach with frightening ease as his hand wrapped tight around her throat, stealing the air from her lungs. In that instant her fanaticism for the Silver Kingdom became a dream that she would never achieve. He was the spirit of death, a force of nature less than a man. The crimson aura faded, receding into his body. He glared at her, intense and damning blue eyes boring into her soul.

"Now witch, why? Tell me why you murdered my mother, why did she die?" He offered her his contempt, and in that instant she realized why? She tried to kill his mother to prevent this very situation, to finish off the last bits of proof of her crimes.

"Dark Knight. Filth. Exterminate." She choked a bit on her own blood, pooling in her mouth as it was. She couldn't seem to manage much else, though the words she did manage were a shock to his system. Other's like him? Other Dark Knights? That was impossible, the scroll said that his family was the last survivor of a genocide.

_Wait_

That had been thousands of years ago, according to the scroll, After all, it mentioned ancient China, places lost to man for millennia.

"You, you're..." Words failed him, and his face twisted in rage and hate, before he began to convulse, calming himself. This was for his mother, and his ancestors, he decided.

"Shadow Lance." He said dully. He took morbid fascination with it all as the spike of ghostly violet speared the woman's throat, severing arteries and windpipe. It continued beyond her body though, filling the air with the distasteful smell of burnt hair. He felt the warmth as blood flowed over his hand, felt satisfaction in that instant. He cast her aside like a rag doll.

* * *

_Mercury_

They'd reached the roof of the building Usagi was on, though it was a dome of ebon fire that blocked their path to Ranma. Heat rolled off of the field in waves. She knew better than to get any closer than she already had. Usagi was wide-eyed and fearful as she looked at the aura. Ami had always known that her leader was at least a little empathic, but her proof was now, as she stared at the aura and wept. She felt his sadness, palpable in the air. She felt it all, the rage and the anguish, and it was for this man that she had wronged that she wept.

"Usagi, Setsuna lied to us." She whispered to her blonde leader.

"Wha? Ami, you can't be here, your dead, he killed you." She reasoned, her tears having ceased in the presence of the bluette. Her heart had lifted, enough to dry her tears, but not nearly enough to take away the grief she felt from this young man.

"Usagi, Setsuna tried to kill me, she took me to the Gates of Time, I tried a Sailor Teleport and ended up near Sapporo nearly dead." Ami whispered, though she didn't understand why. Perhaps the aura was the reason, every word seemed to be a direct insult to the pain and suffering the dome represented. The blonde nodded her head, the twin trails of golden hair bouncing.

"Setsuna and Queen Serenity, they weren't what we thought. They used Ranma's ancestors, his people as a scapegoat. They were refugees that were colonizing Vulcan, the planet that is now the asteroid belt. Serenity and Pluto schemed the whole thing, using them as a common threat to reorganize the planetary governments. They were slaughtered to solidify her kingdom." Ami was shaking now, from rage, or pain, but she shook, and that was when she felt Usagi's arms wrap around her. It took only moments, but they were both crying now.

* * *

_Saturn_

The youngest senshi watched on even now, as Pluto was killed. Something in her then tore, and she felt the tears, felt the pressure in her chest begin to fade. She unsummoned the Silence Glaive and leapt toward him. She needed to speak with him, tell him what she could not tell the others, she needed his forgiveness. Her life had always been a matter of value. Rather, she had always held her own life in little regard. She had all the preservation instincts of a human girl, but lacked the will. The senshi of Saturn was a weapon, something that Hotaru could not live as. She instead tried to protect and help others. Be it as Tomoe Hotaru or as The Harbinger of the Silence. Her ability to heal was limited, but she would nonetheless do anything in her power to ease someone's suffering.

Her landing was light, but despite this, he spun on her, anger clearly displayed in his eyes. She made a decision, and returned to her civilian form.

"I just want to talk." She said quietly, large purple eyes gazing out at him with hope. Dammit, a little girl, why did she have to be a little girl.

_She never attack us, nor did she attack mom. Her attacks level city block's._

His mind was again being mutinous, stealing away his rage at the senshi before him.

"Aright, talk." Ryouga and two more senshi approached him cautiously, though instantly his first notice was that Ryouga was limping. He looked at his friend questioningly, and the look returned told him to listen. He disliked this, he'd much rather have eliminated them, but something was important.

"During the time of the Silver Kingdom, the Dark Knights were killed. I can only assume that a few made it away, but to the point. I remember, it was the former senshi of Saturn who killed the bulk of them. Planet Vulcan was destroyed by the harbinger of silence." Her voice stopped, and she looked down momentarily. Ami took it as an opportunity to carry on, it led perfectly to her own statement.

"The Silver Queen and her chief advisor, the senshi of Pluto, noticed a decline in the Queen's fame, and by using the Dark Knights they managed to bring all but Earth back into their sway. Pluto and the Queen ordered the genocide of the Dark Knights, all to rekindle her fame by her spectacular success. They were used as scapegoats." She paused allowing them all time to absorb this information.

"When she took me to the Gates of Time she divulged her reasons, and they were sick. She said that you and your mother HAD to be killed because you were too powerful, that because of your blood you would kill us all. She said that as if she honestly believed it. But she denied none of her accusations." Ami finished, dropping her transformed state, leaving her in the borrowed clothes she had received from Sakura.

Usagi seemed intent to finish for the trio, shedding herself of the magical facade. "I've been the leader of these girls for a long time now, and every day we risked ourselves to ensure the future of humanity. Venus, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter. We fought so very hard to stay strong despite the way it interfered with our lives. Then we met the outer senshi: Neptune and Uranus. They were cold, and we couldn't understand their methods, they were always so blindly willing to go forward in their mission. After that we met Pluto and Saturn, though she was only a baby when she truly joined us. Pluto was always secretive, but whenever there was trouble she was there to help. Initially, Pluto was just a name, someone who had allowed a daughter I was supposed to have to return to the past to seek aid. What I mean to say is that we've never had a reason to question Pluto, she always told the truth as far as we knew. When she told us about your mother, we were told of a demon, a thing masquerading inside a human shell. But as time went on we realized this wasn't true. When she told us that you'd killed Ami, we believed her, and wanted revenge of our own." Her words were sincere, and her heart was aching. She didn't know what to do, there was nothing she could say that she believed would change his mind. No matter what she said, she'd still played a part in killing his mother, something they didn't deserve forgiveness for, mislead or not.

"She lied to you?" He whispered, a cold and deadly sound that promised pain. The three girls were utterly defenseless, all having bared themselves to his mercy. His fist raised, and around it black fire leapt and cracked. His fist kept rising until it reached eye level, ready to destroy them. Until it started shaking. It remained for one long instant, before once again dropping to his side.

"I can't do it. As much as I want to say you're lying, as much as I want to hate you. She lied to you, and you're just a bunch of teenage girls. I can't take you away from your parents. I won't kill you, it isn't worth the cost." He followed Cologne's advice, and with it, a great weight fell from his shoulders. He stumbled off into the night, away from Nerima, away from the world. He needed to think.

To Be Concluded...

A/N: Well, all that remains of the story is the epilogue, where all final ends are tied together. Some endings are bad some are good, the others, the are simply endings. This may seem a bit rushed to you all, but imagine how hard it would be to drag this out further, the senshi weren't going to lay idle with one of their own fallen, especially not that persons lover. Anyhow, please send me a startling amount of reviews. I realize that a lot of it will be hate mail, but I'm ready to cope with that. Following the epilogue will be a section devoted to thanking those of you who have been supportive, as well as critical. If there are any questions you feel are grossly unanswered, feel welcome to ask them and in the epilogue will you get your answers, this is my solemn promise. Well, I'm off to bed now.

**Technique Translations**

**Hatsugen - **Revelation

**Enkou no Ten -** Flame of Heaven


	15. Forged by Time

"She lied to you?" He whispered, a cold and deadly sound that promised pain. The three girls were utterly defenseless, all having bared themselves to his mercy. His fist raised, and around it black fire leapt and cracked. His fist kept rising until it reached eye level, ready to destroy them. Until it started shaking. It remained for one long instant, before once again dropping to his side.

"I can't do it. As much as I want to say you're lying, as much as I want to hate you. She lied to you, and you're just a bunch of teenage girls. I can't take you away from your parents. I won't kill you, it isn't worth the cost." He followed Cologne's advice, and with it, a great weight fell from his shoulders. He stumbled off into the night, away from Nerima, away from the world. He needed to think.

**In Darkness In Fire**

By: XZero

Disclaimer: I own nothing

**Epilogue - Forged by Time**

_Ryouga_

Life for one such as he was never easy, his training was endless, so there was nothing that could hold his path. Ranma had disappeared months ago, and no one had heard anything. Ryouga wanted to search for his rival, wanted to ring the life out of him. The battle had finished, and they had hurried to the Tendo Dojo, what they found there was not something you want to witness. Ryouga had leapt over the wall and nearly vomited, the destruction was unlike that caused by the frequent battles visited upon the district.

The fires had been extinguished, but the house lie in ruins, the dojo nothing more than a twisted heap of splintered wood. "Damn you." He muttered to himself, the hot air muffling his voice. He heard noise, and the senshi with him heard it too. Sailor Moon was by his side, having taken again to her superheroine form. She had to do something to redeem herself, and she would apparently start now.

Groans came from the blackened structure, threatening with a low voice to collapse, possibly with living Tendos inside.

He caught sight of a flash of red, so like Ranma's own hair that he leapt to join the distorted form of the woman. Wait, she didn't have her hair in a pigtail, nor did she wear the clothes that his rival so often wore. She and another were struggling with something, and though he could not see through the haze clearly enough to make it out, his instincts told him to hurry. He landed near to the woman, and took in the differences between Ranma and her. Her bust was more proportional, as she was taller than Ranma. He blushed furiously, and grasped his nose to prevent the blood loss. He closed his eyes, desperately trying to stave off the image of her bosom.

"Who are you? No, never mind, help me with this beam, a man is trapped underneath." She barked immediately, not taking the time away from her efforts to notice his actions.

Ryouga's mind cleared up immediately as horror shot through him. Mr. Tendo, his mind raced and for a moment his mind was stuck, forgetting temporarily the strength that he possessed. The fiery haired woman said something, he'd never be sure what, but it succeeded in rousing him from the shock. His wild black hair flew a second and he sprung into action, tired aching muscles bulging as they strained under the weight of the support beam. He growled and pushed the heavy wooden beam away from him, sending it crashing away into a clear area.

The woman started, but he didn't pay any mind to it. Mr Tendo was his priority at the moment. He knelt beside the man and began to check his vitals. He was obviously alive, though unconscious. His legs were mangled but he'd live, and perhaps even keep the limbs.

He looked to the woman, "Get him some help, I'm gonna go look for the others." He rushed off into the smokey ruins without pause. Sakura sat blankly for a moment, before calling out for help, surely the fire department, police, or someone would be able to help her.

* * *

Hours passed, and the Tendo house was entirely ruined, the police on scene and the fire Marshall both agreed, the fire started at their gas lines, a crater surrounding the main line seemed to indicate its beginning. The occupants were all alive, most were injured, but thankfully, still breathing on their own. The patriarch, Soun Tendo, whom both men had known for a number of years had severely broken legs, though would hopefully recover.

"Wrap it up." The fire Marshall hollered over the buzz of reporters who'd flocked to the Tendo home like a swarm of locusts. They'd get more answers when the occupants of the now burnt out house came to.

* * *

_Mousse_

The last thing he remembered was fighting the Senshi of Time, the attack that he'd loosed, falling, darkness. Though now he was awake again, the light was far too bright, in his opinion. It shone through his eyelids, invading his sleep. That was it, sleep, at the time it was all he wanted, his muscles were aching and burning. He could feel the numerous lacerations decorating his chest and back. He'd been lucky, the main of combat had seen Ranma as its center, and the others had only needed to run support, to keep him from being overwhelmed by numbers. Something soft brushed his cheek, and he cracked his eyes open to find the tender touch's source. A blur. He couldn't feel the familiar and seemingly omnipresent weight of his glasses resting atop his head. He'd long ago felt that they were a part of him, and often forgot that they were present.

His arm was heavy, it seemed to take all his energy to grope the area for them. He didn't find them. Gently again he felt something brush his skin. The touch thought was not warm, it wasn't flesh as it had been before.

"Silly Mousse." That angelic voice, touched with concern to his ears. Shampoo, he was beyond it though, the energy that would normally jump to him to pursue the lavender haired amazon was not present, and he could only drift back to sleep as his vision cleared and his spectacles were replaced. Her face was the last thing he saw as he drifted back. Though the tender touch of her lips against his would form a lasting memory.

* * *

_Ryuu_

The battle had ended, and he was tired. The Saotome techniques, each was a deadly weapon unto itself, but now he'd seen then used for better purposes. He'd been working on adapting them into a style before, but now, he realized that they were simply too powerful, too dangerous if used improperly to wield against a foe. He would continue to study the arts, his dedication to that goal unerring, but he was finally free of the responsibility. The others had been gone when he'd awoke, off doing other things, having left him resting inside the Nekohanten. He wrapped himself in the thieve's cloak and left Nerima, he would return someday, when he had mastered them, and himself.

* * *

_Ranma_

It was done he realized, he'd gotten revenge for his mother. Life before that had been about perfecting his art, spending time with his mother, doing all these things that now seemed a child's game. He couldn't return to Nerima, he was too dangerous. He felt the control slipping from him in that battle, he would have slaughtered them all if Ryouga hadn't broken his concentration. He would taken the lives of all those girls, would've stolen their lives. His mother, she'd died because of Pluto, because she feared what they could do, and in doing so, had started the path to her own destruction.

He realized suddenly that he'd been walking for a day, the night sky above him only barely visible through the trees. He knew where he was, the towering trees could only belong to Ryugenzawa, but how had he traversed so much distance in a day. The faint light was not from the sky. He looked down at his hand, noting the fire that enveloped it. The aura was astounding, revenge had left him empty, but free. His violent thoughts had disappeared, but the want to use the seductive power was almost overwhelming, he'd need to master this power before he could rejoin the others, no matter how long it took.

* * *

_Akane_

"Kasumi, I'm headed out, is there anything you need?" She was headed to the door, halfway done with putting on her shoes when the response came.

"If you could pick up some sake, I'd be most appreciative. I have a new recipe I'd like to try." The elder sister's face had emerged from the kitchen, her carefree smile seemingly lit the hallway.

"Alright Kasumi, I'll be back in a couple hours." Akane left the house, turning back once she'd reached the gate to marvel at the house. It had been almost ten years, but it still never ceased to amaze her how quickly the entire district leapt at the chance to help them rebuild. The government funded the entire thing, a token of thanks for helping to put down a public menace. They had been reluctant, but the contractors of the ward had been too quick. The salvage of whatever they could had only taken a week, and surprisingly, her mother's shrine, their table, and a few other nick knacks that had been in the dojo. Her smile was interrupted at the thought of the one person who'd just disappeared that night, she just shook her head. He'd gone to find himself, and she couldn't blame him, she just hoped that he was okay.

* * *

_Usagi_

The professor's lecture was boring, she reflected, listening to his droning about the different philosophies. The years had passed slowly it seemed, since Setsuna and the other outer senshi's deaths, they had lost their lives, and she now understood that they had merely paid the price for their fanatical pursuit of a dream. She grieved the loss of the other two, but she could not find it within her to forgive Pluto for her crimes, the look in her eyes, they were filled with nothing but maniacal hatred for Ranma. She had kept in touch with the other inner senshi, though they never again appeared as such to the public. She made her living now as a normal woman. Mamoru had long since faded from the picture, leaving her sure that it was merely the promise of power, and threat of destiny that had kept them together.

For awhile she had despaired, but some words that had been left on her answering machine by Rei. Usagi remembered those words and clung to them, leaving her where she was today, a student of Tokyo University, top in her class. She was studying to become a lawyer, because she recognized that lawyers were the ones to become political officials. She would not become the queen of Crystal Tokyo, but she would do her best to aid her nation. Her path was chosen. The professor was wrapping things up, she came out of her reverie as he started talking about the assignments that he expected before the next class. An essay discussing the finer points of Nietzsche's philosophies.

She looked up from her notes just in time to catch a blur fly past the window. She exited the class as swiftly as she dared, though the piercing scream spurred her on faster. She reached the outside just in time it seemed. A single youma stood holding a woman by the throat. She gazed on at it, stunned by the sudden appearance of such a creature, years after their last appearance. She hated it, but she knew what she had to do, even if they started hunting the senshi again, she could not leave an innocent to such a gruesome fate.

The darkness of the shadowed building was enough for her transformation, a crowd would no doubt begin to form soon, she had to deal with it by then.

Fast as she could manage she was back on the scene, the nostalgic feeling of wearing this uniform descending on her. She fought the urge to make a speech, and in the end, the thought of making such a ridiculous declaration before attacking an enemy defeated the purpose of surprise and tactical advantage. Yes, Sun Tzu had been a vital part of her reformed attitude. Cunning was the military philosopher's greatest asset, something a lawyer would need in spades.

Her attack was whispered, and she felt the surge of familiar eldritch energies as she focused the power. She chose the target carefully, made sure that the youma would suspect nothing until the powerful wave of positive energy was unavoidable.

It slammed home, knocking the misshapen fiend away from its intended victim. The woman fell limp to the ground, her energy stolen from her, but luckily, not her life. Usagi leapt to her, cradling her delicately in her arms. The woman seemed impossibly light, and was pale, she suddenly recognized her, it was Nabiki, the Tendo daughter whom had assured her that Ranma had forgiven her. She sprung again, this time landing near a knot of her peers who'd been attracted by the screams. She handed her frail burden to a young man whom she did not recognize.

"Get her away from here, please." She said, turning just as she heard the raging bellow from the vaguely feminine aberration. Plucking her tiara from her brow she cocked her arm, whispering the classic spell that had dealt with so many youma in her time as Sailor Moon.

"Moon Tiara Action." The golden disc streamed through the air, missing the youma by inches. The thing, for you could call it nothing else, surged forward, confident that she could muster nothing else in the short time it would take to reach the blonde senshi.

"Adauchi!" A beam of crimson light engulfed the youma, and just as soon as it began, it ended. She spun on her heels, turning and bringing her guard up as the golden disc returned to her hand. Unmindfully she replaced the ornament on her forehead.

The masculine form melted from the shadows, coming into the dull light outside the lecture hall.

"It's, you." Was all her stunned mind could manage, it had been nearly ten years, but he seemed so much older. His hair was still thick and full, but bits of silver touched his temples, streaking through his hair and marking his aging frame. He had become leaner than he had been, all the baby fat that disguised the lethal and corded muscle gone. His clothing was nearly the same as it had been all those years ago. A black tunic and black pants. A pair of sturdy boots that were visibly reinforced with steel protected his feet. She could feel though that this change of style was not the greatest change, and as she met his eyes she saw how right she was. The blue eyes were deep, endless and eternal, just as they had been years ago on the roof of the Nekohanten, but now, they seemed heavy with the burden of knowledge. It seemed that his years away had done a great deal for him. Rage no longer burned beneath his surface, no longer permeated his being until he seemed like nothing more than a savage animal ready to pounce. She nodded to him, expressing her thanks without sound. He returned her gesture, and melted back into the shadows. She was in the middle of relinquishing her transformation when the three simple words touched her ears, seemingly a whisper of the wind.

"I forgive you."

_The End_

A/N: Well that's it, it's done. It has been a great deal of fun writing this story, and am glad and saddened simultaneously to have finished it. It is only through the encouraging words you all have left me that I was able to get through this. For a time the words wouldn't come to me, and one day, I received a review, and the next I'd posted a chapter. I want to thank especially those who gave me honest criticism. I realize that the last chapter may have seemed rushed, however, as many of you mentioned, conflict, in any form, always moves quickly, and to keep things from becoming wordy and poorly presented I had to write it in bursts of action.

I cannot even begin to run through the list of you who have inspired me, but foremost I must thank Paul, who presented the idea for this story to me. It was he who helped me shape the plot of this story.


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